Undertale Story of the 9th Child Book 1
by budgrant123
Summary: Undertale, one of the greatest games of all time. We all love it and many of us have played it countless times. But there were some questions that always struck me as odd. Is that all Undertale is? Choose your path and then you're done? What is the Fate of Frisk? And what about Chara? Get ready to find out as we return with a new character, (My OC), new traits and a new adventure.
1. Prologue and Intro

_**Undertale: Story of the 9th Child Book 1: Broken Roads and Bad Times**_

 _This is the first book in a series detailing the adventures of the 9th child to fall to the Underground. This occurs as a result of Frisk nearly completing a Genocide run then resetting her timeline and going on a pacifist run. In this book, the 9th child Michael, falls to the Underground trying to escape his suffering, stopping Frisk's genocide run…_

 _ **Prologue**_

 _Many years ago, around the year 56s, monsters occupied Earth and lived in peace for several hundred years. Then around the year, 96w, Humans appeared on the earth and lived alongside the monsters. The King of the Monsters, Asgore, loved the surface realm and simply called it "home." For nearly a century, the two sides worked together and were the best of friends. But in 196w, everything changed. The humans attacked, determined to wipe the monsters off the planet. Unfortunately, the monsters fought back and the humans couldn't wipe them out. Instead, the humans banished the monsters to the underground, sealing them down there with a magic barrier. The monsters, betrayed, vowed someday to break the barrier and return to the surface…._


	2. Welcome to the Underground

_**Chapter 1: Welcome to the Underground**_

" _Well this is it." I am standing at the edge of the hole. The same hole that claimed my sister a month earlier. But she didn't deserve to die, she didn't deserve to suffer. I'm worthless, everyone hates me, humanity turned their back on me. "Nobody will miss me." I look back at my home, one last time. "Goodbye, Ebott Village. Goodbye, cruel and heartless world." I jump into the hole and everything fades to black..._

I wake up in a flash. I look around and scream as I realize my right ankle is broken. Then I hear a voice. "Huh?" "Uhh, my head hurts so much." "Howdy" I turn. "Who was that?" "Howdy." I turn "Where is that coming from?" "Down here." I look down and see what looks like a flower. Is it talking to me? "To answer your question, child, I am talking to you." I gasp but am immediately intrigued. "You can talk? That's so cool!" The flower smiles "Thanks, kid. I don't get very many compliments." I frown "That's no good. Anyways, who are you?" The flower smiles "Allow me to introduce myself. Howdy, my name is Flowey and I'm your new best friend." I smile "Cool." Then I frown "My head hurts, do you know where I am?" The flower sighs "You took quite a fall from the top of that mountain up there." I looked up and saw what looked like a massive hole that I must have fallen down. I recognize the mountain. It is Mount Ebott. That was a 9000 foot fall. How am I alive? "How did I get here?" The flower looks at me "We usually only get humans falling down here every few centuries but another child fell down here maybe a month or two ago."Can you help me?" The flower shakes his head. "I can't get you back up there but there is something I can do." I looked at Flowey. "What?" Flowey smiles "I can teach you how things work down here." I am confused "Down here, where am I?" Flowey chuckles "You're in the Underground of course." "Anyways. I'll teach you how things work down here. You see, every being in the known universe has a soul." I nod "I know that for sure." "Well, a monster soul isn't worth much but it's a soul nonetheless." Now, a _human_ soul, it would take combining thousands of monster souls to equate the power of a human soul." I gasp "Are human souls really that powerful?" Flowey nods "That's why King Asgore has been trying to collect human souls so he can break the barrier and lead the monsters back to the surface." I gasp "So the stories are true…" Flowey nods "You're the 9th child to fall down here." I am confused "The 9th child?" "What happened to the other 8?" Flowey sighs "The 1st one lived down here but later grew ill and died. The next 6 died during their journeys through the underground." "The 8th one, I don't know what happened to her." "Wow, I'm the 9th child to fall down Mount Ebott into the Underground?" Flowey nods. "Here take this." Something appears above my head. "What is it?" Flowey smiles "It's a bi friendliness pellet." I am confused. "A what?" Flowey sighs "Your heart and soul can grow stronger if you gain lots of love or LV." "The bi friendliness pellets help with that." I am suspicious and I sense I am being tricked. Flowey sighs "Just catch them with your heart." I didn't know how to do that so I jump up to try and catch it. It zaps me and I fall backwards as my head collides into a rock. 'Ow. What the hell!?" I am surrounded by the friendliness pellets. Flowey cackles. " _ **FOOLISH CHILD, YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRUSTED ME. DOWN HERE, IT'S A KILL OR BE KILLED WORLD. I WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL AND THE SOULS OF THE OTHER HUMANS AND BECOME A GOD."**_ "Flowey, I trusted you." Flowey cackles " _ **NOW YOUR SOUL IS MINE AND YOU WILL DIE. ANY LAST WORDS?"**_ I sigh, resigned to my fate as I wait for this flower to kill me. It never happens as I suddenly hear Flowey scream and disappear.


	3. The Ancient Ruins

Chapter 2: The Ancient RUINS

I have my eyes closed when I suddenly hear "Are you okay, child?" That voice sounds so comforting and mother-like. I open my eyes to see what looks like a goat wearing a purple robe standing over me. I scratch my head and lift my body upwards. "I'm okay. My head really hurts." The lady frowns "I'm so sorry, child. I was sweeping around the ruins and saw you being tortured by that wicked flower." I look up at her and try to get to my feet but crumple. She frowns. "You're in no condition to walk" "Let me carry you back to my home." She lifts me up as if I was a baby. "Who are you?" She smiles "My name is Toriel, I'm the caretaker of the ruins." I smile, despite being in pain. "Thank you for saving me." She seems surprised "You're the only child to thank me for saving them. Although there is/" She shakes her head. "Never mind, let's keep going." We suddenly come across a room with spiders in it. I see that the spiders are sad and crying. I limp over to the spiders and place some gold and monster candy on the ground. They smile and take the gold and candy. They leave behind a rubber looking donut and something called spider cider? I don't why but I feel like I would have ended up regretting not doing that. "Let's keep going, my child." She lifts me up and we continue forward.

She carries me through the ruins and down several hallways until we arrive at a path that is blocked by what looks like a dummy. She sighs "That wicked flower has the wrong idea." "It's not a kill or be killed world down here." "You can be peaceful and still succeed." I nod "I've never been a major fan of violence. But I'm not sure if I'm a pacifist either." She turns to the dummy and then back to me. "We need to figure out a way to get past the dummy." I look at Toriel "What do we do then?" Toriel smiles "Try talking to it." I sigh. I can't believe I'm about to talk to a dummy. Alright then, I take a deep breath. "Hello there, How are you doing?" To my surprise, the dummy starts talking "I'm just chilling and my name's Richard." I look at Toriel in awe. "Wow, dummies can talk down here too?" "This place is so crazy yet so cool." Richard turns towards me "What about you, human?" I sigh "I fell down a mountain, broke my ankle, have a massive head splitting headache, met a flower, said flower tried to kill me, met Toriel and now we're here." Richard nods "Flowey is an asshole, but don't worry too much about him." "I'm sorry about what happened to you." Richard actually seems concerned for me. I am shocked "I didn't expect this. Thank you, Richard." Richard smiles and moves out of the pathway. "Safe travels, Human. Toriel will take care of you." I smile and give Richard a hug. Toriel beams. "Thank you, Richard, maybe I'll see you again." Richard smiles "Maybe someday, Human.

I smile as Toriel picks me up and carries me the rest of the way. We arrive at her home. "Welcome to my home, child. I know it's not much but I hope you like it." I am in awe. This house is amazing. It's a simple cottage but it's beauty can't be denied. I look at Toriel and smile "Are you kidding? This house is amazing!" Toriel smiles "Thank you, child." I turn to her "I have a name, no need to be so formal." She gasps "I'm sorry, what is your name?" I nod "I'm Michael." She suddenly gasps and her face drains. It is as if she knows something I don't. I suddenly look concerned "Toriel, are you okay?" She nods and smiles "Don't worry, I am fine." She leads me down the hallway to the first door on the left. She opens it to reveal a small bedroom. I gasp. Toriel turns to me "I know it's not much, but-" I walk into the room and collapse on the bed. "This is perfect." I smile "Thank you, Toriel." She smiles "Rest now, Michael" "I will have something for you to eat when you wake." I smile and yawn as I start to fall asleep. She closes the door as I say "Thank you for saving me." She smiles, closes the door and I close my eyes.


	4. Journey into My SOUL

Chapter 3: Journey into My SOUL

I'm suddenly no longer in the room. I look around and all I see are stone pillars. I get to my feet and start walking around. I start to hear something. It sounds like crying and laughing. I walk to the left and I'm suddenly back on the surface. I'm in Ebott Village, my home. I walk down the streets to see a large group of people staring at something. Some are laughing, some are shaking their heads. Some are ignoring the situation. I fan through the crowd to see a young boy. He is being beaten up by the other kids. "You're such a weakling, Michael," I remember this now. That's me, a month earlier. I got beat up regularly by the other kids in the village. They made fun of me because they thought I was a coward. I tried to be nice and was extremely friendly. But, I was hated by the village. My family wasn't much better. I was known as the "forsaken" or "accidental" child. I had an older sister, named Frisk. Frisk was the only who ever understood me for who I really was. Frisk made me happy, Frisk kept me going. Every time, I felt like I was going to break or my sanity was going to snap, Frisk picked up the pieces and calmed me down. My family loved Frisk and treated her like an angel descended from heaven. We were a poor family and so I've always believed they didn't mean to treat me so poorly.

But everything went south the day Frisk disappeared. It was my fault too. We had been playing near the mountain and Frisk had gone in to get a stick. She never came out. I panicked and ran home. My parents blamed me for her disappearance as did the village. A rumor spread that I was so miserable, I had attacked Frisk and gotten rid of her. I got bullied more and more frequently and treated worse and worse. Finally, my sanity had snapped. Under the cover of night, I snuck out, stole a dagger and climbed the mountain. I reached the hole, the one that claimed my sister a month or so earlier. "Well this is it." I thought about Frisk. "She didn't deserve to die, she didn't deserve to suffer." "I'm worthless, everyone hates me, humanity turned their back on me." "Nobody will miss me." I looked back at my home, one last time. "Goodbye, Ebott Village. Goodbye, cruel and heartless world." I jumped into the hole and everything faded to black.

I'm back in the room with the pillars again. This time there's somebody here. I can't see who it is but they look familiar. I walk forward and the figure turns. It's a girl. She gasps. "Who are you?" "I'm Michael." "Why am I here? Where is she?" "Who is she?" "The child, the child of mercy. The pure pacifist." "I'm not sure I understand." This girl looks a lot like me and reminds me of Frisk but something is different about her. Her eyes are red, and she is wearing a green shirt with a red stripe and shorts. I'm wearing a red shirt with a green stripe. The exact opposite as the girl. The girl also looks a lot like me. Frisk has blue eyes, is unarmed and wears a blue jumper with a pink stripe on it. "You interfered." "You stopped me." "Huh?" "What are you talking about?" "It's not important. What is important is I need to know where I am." "I think it's my thoughts and dreams." "No, that's not possible." "I was trapped in her soul but now I'm trapped here, don't try to help me." "Wait, what do you mean you're trapped?" "Who are you?" "Who is she?" "I am trapped in your Soul now, there's no escape for me." "I'm Chara Dreemurr. I was the first child to fall to the Underground." 'Also, the person I'm talking about, her name is Frisk." My heart stops. Frisk. Frisk. Frisk. The name echoes through my head. "Did you just say her name was Frisk?" "Yes, how come?" "Because, she's my-" "I'm sorry but our time is short. If you want to see me more, you'll have to come back some other time or do a no mercy run." "Wait, what?" "Farewell, Michael." _I suddenly hear_ " _ **Micheal, Micheal, Micheal!"**_


	5. The Adventure Begins

Chapter 4: The Adventure Begins

I jolt awake to see Toriel shaking me, trying to wake me. "Toriel, I'm awake." She gasps. "Are you okay, my child? You were clutching your forehead in pain and screaming so I came to check on you." I sigh. What exactly was that dream I just had? "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare." She looks at me "Are you certain, it was just a nightmare?" I sigh "I don't know Toriel." Toriel hands me something. I look at it in surprise. No one has ever made food for me before. "What is it?" She smiles "It's butterscotch pie, except this kind is special." I am confused. "Special?" She nods "This pie is really good, made with the best butterscotch." I look up at her. "You're telling me that this pie is really good?" She nods. I sigh as I take a bite of the pie and I suddenly feel rejuvenated. I carefully plant my foot down on the ground, but am shocked to discover that my ankle is healed. The pain in the back of my head is gone as well. I gasp. That pie healed me. I smile "Toriel, thank you." She smiles "You're welcome, child." "I'll keep the rest somewhere safe. If you ever need it, it will be at your disposal." I smile "Thank you Toriel." She turns to me "Are you ready to continue your journey?" I shake my head "Journey?" She nods "You want to get home, don't you?" I sigh " You've been so kind to me and you saved my life." "I have no idea how well I'm going to do alone outside the ruins." She sighs "I used to try and convince the children to stay." "But after _her_ , I decided I was no longer going to force children to stay with me." "From now on, they can come back of their own free will." "She hasn't returned." I am confused "Who is she?" Toriel is silent and so I decide not to press the issue. "If you ever wish to contact me, she hands me a device she calls a phone. "Use this, I can help you until you get closer to Asgore's castle." I nod "Thank you." She leads me down the stairs and down a hallway lit by torches. We soon arrive at a large purple door. It looks more like a gate than a door. Toriel turns "This is where I leave you." "Good luck on the rest of your journey." I turn and leap into Toriel's arms. She gasps as I hug her, tears in my eyes. "Thank you, Toriel, I'll never forget you. I'll return before I go home. I promise." She smiles as I walk through the door "Farewell, Michael…"

I walk forward through the door into an empty hallway. I walk down the hallway until I hear "Howdy." I look down to see Flowey staring at me. "You think you're so clever, stalling until Toriel could save you." I sigh "I wasn't stalling, Flowey." "I was trying not to die." "You would know because you're the one who tried to kill me!" He cackles " _ **WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU FACE POWERFUL MONSTERS? WHAT GOOD WILL YOUR KINDNESS AND MERCY DO YOU THEN**_? I turn "Guess what, Flowey?" Flowey stares at me. "Those are things you don't possess." "Later, crazy flower." I walk away even though I can hear him ranting about his evil plans. I don't care and so I continue onward. I walk down the hallway and outside. I shiver, it is chilly outside but at least I am wearing a warm outfit that is keeping me at least a little warm. It is snowing lightly as I continue to walk through the forest. I start humming to myself because it always makes me feel better...


	6. The Comedian and the Puzzle Master

Chapter 5: The Comedian and the Puzzle Master

Suddenly, I feel like I am being followed. I stop humming and I hear a voice say "Human, don't you know how to greet a new friend?" "Shake my hand." I turn around to see a skeleton looking at me. I reach out my hand to shake it and hear a farting sound. He starts laughing. "Got you with the Whoopie Cushion Trick." I can't help but chuckle. "I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton." I smile. "Nice to meet you Sans, I'm Michael." Sans chuckles then scratches his chin "You look like someone I've met before." I freeze "I do?" He chuckles "What do I know? I'm just a pile o' bones." I chuckle as does Sans. "You know kid, it's actually kinda surprising to see another human so soon." I am confused "Another human? What do you mean?" He sighs. "Only 8 human children over the course of hundreds of years have fallen into the underground. The first was brought here by King Asgore, but she got ill and supposedly died." The next 6 after her died on their journey. The eighth child fell down here maybe a month earlier and was traveling through the Underground when I lost contact with her." "You're the 9th child to fall down here and your aura shows that you're even more powerful than she was." I gasp "What does that mean?" He sighs "You could either be a hero and protect the Underground or a villain who will wipe us all out." I gasp. Sans chuckles "Let's just hope for the former, Ok?" I nod. "I hope you're right." Sans chuckles "Don't worry, kid you'll be fine as long as you don't die or get captured." "I'm quite fond of you humans, but my brother, Papyrus, wants to capture a human so he can join the Royal Guard." "The Royal Guard?" Sans nods "So, what does that mean?" Sans looked at me "It means he might try to capture you." I gasp "Capture me?" Sans nods. "However at the same time, Papyrus has never actually met or seen a human besides her. Meeting you might just make his day." I facepalm "So what you're saying is that I should try to avoid Papyrus so he doesn't capture me, but at the same time, I should meet him so he might feel better?" Sans nods and I sigh. "All right then."

Sans walks away and I follow behind. I can't see anything for a minute as the snow falls more rapidly. I soon reach a pathway and as I look across, I see Sans and another skeleton. I realize the other skeleton is Papyrus. Sans is shorter and a little more round while Papyrus is taller and literally skin and bones. Papyrus is talking to Sans. ' **So anyways, I was talking to Undyne about potentially getting promoted to the Royal Guard. She asked me if I had captured any humans, I told her no and she slammed the door in my face." "I just need to capture a-"** He stares in shock as he realizes I'm standing there. " **It's a human! Human! Go no further! I, the Great Papyrus will stop you."** I sigh. "Can this get any worse?" " **Human, you cannot pass unless you can solve my riddle."** I facepalm myself. " **Human, what goes up but never comes down?"** I smile because that is the easiest riddle I've ever heard. "Easy, it's your age." Papyrus gasp " **Human, I'm impressed by your intelligence, proceed."** I sigh, smile and continue to walk forward as Papyrus ran off. I walk up to Sans. Sans smiles "That's the happiest I've seen him in 2 weeks." "Thank you, and I'm letting you know now, Papyrus is actually not a bad guy. He might challenge you with stupid puzzles but all he really wants is friends." I sigh "I know what that's like. I don't have any friends either." Sans smiles "You're alright kid." "Also, Papyrus is gonna challenge you with a few puzzles, then afterwards, he's going to try to fight you." Don't fight him and especially _**Don't kill him**_." "If you do, you'll have to answer to me." I turn to Sans "I promise to not harm your brother." Sans smiles and I walk away.

I sigh and trudge forward through the snow. I'm not really paying attention and I bump into something. I look up to see "Puppy!" I then look at all the armor it is wearing and the spear its wielding. "Wicked dog!" It swings the spear and I jump out of the way. I need to think. I can hear a voice urging me to kill it but I ignore it. I dive under the spear and leap up to the dog and pet it. The dog starts barking excitedly and it's neck begins to extend. I smile. "This doggie is so cute!" I continue to pet it until it returns to normal and I walk off. I sigh and chuckle in content. I continue to walk straight down the pathway until I finally see Papyrus and San again. Papyrus throws something at me and I catch it. " **Human, I challenge you to solve this."** I stare at it. A junior jumble? How old does Papyrus think I am? I flip through it and complete it in less than 5 minutes. I throw it back to him. " **Incredible, this human's intelligence knows no bounds."** I chuckle to myself as I continue forward.

I continue to walk through the snow until I reach another pathway to see Sans and Papyrus at the other end. As I walk up to the platform, the tiles all turn yellow and I instinctively jump back. " **Good reflexes, Human! You could have been electrocuted."** I regain my composure and turn to Papyrus "Why did you try to shock me?" " **Nyeh heh heh! I, the Great Papyrus have set up a puzzle that you must try to solve."** I sigh "This is the third puzzle and fourth challenge, Sans. How many more are there? He chuckles "This is the last one." I sighed "What do I need to do?" " **I, the Great Papyrus will explain how to solve this puzzle." "There a 8 different types of tiles."** I groan, 8? Seriously? I sigh. " **The purple tiles will vanish so don't stand on them too long." "The green tiles are full of electric eels." "The red tiles will hurt your feet but that's about it." "The yellow tiles will electrocute you." The black tiles will obscure your path until you move forward." "The orange tiles are slippery." The Blue tiles are full of water, so swim if you want." Lastly, the gray tiles don't do anything."**

" **Did you get all that human?"** I nod. " **Then let the puzzle randomizing begin."** The puzzle rapidly starts changing and I can't even remember what Papyrus had told me. Well, screw this. I turn around and start walking away. I then turn around and bolt, gaining speed and momentum and start to sprint towards the puzzle. I jump. I leap forward and soar over the puzzle doing a couple somersaults and flips onto the other side. Sans gasps while Papyrus' jaw drops. " **How did you do that?!"** Sans chuckles "That kid can jump." I sigh. " **Go no further Human. I will capture you and bring you to Undyne! Now we fight!"** "Papyrus, I'm not going to fight you." " **You dare to refuse the Great Papyrus! I will defeat you human."** He throws a bone at me and I dive to the left to avoid it. He growls " **Take this!"** He builds a wall of bones and then pushes it right at me. I close my eyes and jump, soaring over the bones and landing gracefully. "I'm not going to fight you, Papyrus." " **Child, you cannot defeat the Great Papyrus." "I will bring you to Undyne and then she will bring you to King Asgore and then..." I actually don't know what happens then." "Prepare yourself, Human, for my special attack."** A row of bones appear and start heading towards me. I notice something was different with these bones however. They were glowing blue and so I wasn't sure what to do. I believe it was either Toriel or Sans who said something about blue attacks. I couldn't remember so I just stood there staring at the bones as they soar towards me. I gasp as they went right through me, not affecting me at all." " **I can't believe this has happened again." "I can't believe another human has defeated me. This one didn't even fight back and I somehow lost." I'm never going to get to join the Royal Guard."** He looks upset, so I try to cheer him up. "You fought well, and I think Undyne should realize that and at least give you a chance." "Sans told me you didn't have any friends so if you want, I'll be your friend." " **Really, even if I tried to capture you and take you hostage, you would still be friends with me?"** I nod "You're actually a pretty cool guy Papyrus and if Undyne can't understand that, then that's a shame." " **Thank you, Human, you're my new best friend."** I smile and Sans gives me a thumbs up. "Well done kid." I smile and continue my journey.


	7. Welcome to Snowdin

Chapter 6: Welcome to Snowdin

I continue to walk through the snow until I finally come to what looks like a board. Curious, I stop to take a look at them. The first one reads "Many years ago, We lived together in peace." "But the Humans were afraid of us." I continue onward until I come across another board. This one reads "The Humans attacked us without warning. They killed our king's son." I ponder this, I never have believed the story my teachers in the human realm had told me. This story makes a lot more sense but it still felt like something was missing from this story. I continue onward until I cross another board. This one reads "We fought back, but the Humans were united and far too powerful and we were too few and weak." "Their greatest magicians sealed us down here with a magic barrier. Anything can pass through the barrier to the Underground but only one with a powerful enough soul can leave."

I continue forward and see another board. "There is a way to break the barrier." "If the power of seven human souls is absorbed, the barrier will be broken." "He already has 6, only one more." I realize that means, Asgore either needs my soul or the soul of the eighth child to break the barrier. I don't want to think about that now as I yawn. I need to find somewhere to rest. I haven't rested since I left Toriel. I have been here how long? 2 days? A Week? I don't know how fast time goes in the Underground. All I know is that it is snowing and I can't see much. I continue to walk forward until I start to see lights. I change course, following the path with the lights. As I continue down this new path, I started to hear what sounds like music. A few minutes later, I am greeted by a large sign. "Our King isn't good at naming things but we are. Welcome to Snowdin." I look up to see what looks like a small town with lots of bright lights, what looks like a christmas tree? Monsters all over the place, an inn and a restaurant or two. I found the place calming compared to the tumultuous forest and the dangerous ruins. I don't know why, but I am filled with some sort of strange feeling. I sigh and walk toward a small two story building with flowers out in the front. I smell the flowers and realize them immediately, these are golden flowers. I decide to grab several inconspicuously and place them in my pocket. I look up at the sign. _Snowdin Inn._ I open the door and walk inside. I don't see anyone at first and so I sit down in a chair. I see a bell on the counter. Curious, I ring it. A second later, a monster appears. It looks similar to a monkey combined with a bunny with wings. "Hello, welcome to Snowdin Inn." "How long will you be staying?" "Just one night." "That will be 40 gold." I check my pockets to see I have gold that I have gained from sparing monsters. I hand the monster the gold. "Enjoy your stay and if you should choose to stay another night, it will only cost you 20G. "Thank you." I nod and smile as I walk upstairs. I walk into what looks like a simple room with a bed and a dresser. I lay down on the bed and I quickly fall asleep…


	8. A Vision and a Special Meeting

Chapter 7: A Golden Flower, a Vision and a Special Meeting

I am back at the room with pillars, Something is different now. I hear screaming, a voice calling for help. That voice. I recognize it immediately "Frisk!" I hear the sounds of battle and I hear a different voice. " **I'm sorry, child but this is how it must end."** " **Someone please, help me!"** I try to run to her but the hallway continues to extend. I can't get to her. Flowey appears cackling. "You can't save her. No one can." Now I'm back on the surface. I'm in my room, crying. I suddenly hear a knock on the door. "Michael? Can I come in?" "Of course you can, Frisk." She opens the door. She looks exactly the way I remember her. Blue and pink jumper, blue eyes and kind heart and soul. "Michael, what's wrong?" 'What did I do, sister?" "What have I done to deserve this?" "Michael, I don't understand why people treat you this way. I can't believe our parents would treat you so poorly either." "I'm lost Frisk. I'm scared and confused." "I feel broken inside and that you're the only thing keeping the pieces together." "Michael, I love you more than anything in this world and you mean the world to me." "Frisk, you are all I have in this world. If I lose you…" "Don't worry, I'll always be there for you." "Come on, let's go play outside by that cave." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, let's go..."

I start to sob. That was the day I lost her. I'm back in the room with the stone pillars again and she's there as well. "Chara." She turns. "I don't know how I got here but it doesn't matter. I'm not worth saving, so don't bother." "I need to tell you something." "What?" "I'm Frisk's younger brother." Her face turns white "You're what?" "Frisk is my older sister." "But she never told me, she never said anything about having a brother." "What do you mean, she never told you?" "I know your sister well enough." "Her name is Frisk." "But Frisk is dead." "No, she survived, in fact she's down here, completing her journey." This new information suddenly puts new life into my body. "Frisk is alive?!" "Where is she?" "I don't know. I lost my link to her when I ended up here." I start twiddling with the flowers in my pocket. Chara notices. "What is that?" I take the flower out of my pocket. "It's a flower, I thought it looked nice but that's about it." She gasps. "It's a golden flower." "Those are my favorite." "They are?" I smile. "Would you like it?" "Yes, I would." I hand her the flower and for the first time, she smiles. I haven't seen her smile before and something about it makes my heart skip a beat. "Thank you." "It's one of the few things that brings me joy." Right."

"So where exactly are we?" "We're in your Soul." "My Soul?" I look around, it just looks like a lot of stone pillars and an expanse of infinite nothingness. "Chara, I'm feeling this strange feeling." "It's coming from within but I don't know what it is. "Michael, close your eyes." I close my eyes. I hear her gasp. "Michael, you need to see this." I open my eyes and gasp. My Soul is visible and glowing like a rainbow. Next to it is another Soul that must be Chara's. It's glowing red. "What is it?" "I don't know. I've never seen a Soul like yours before." "You haven't?" "Your sister's Soul is the same as mine." I look at the glowing red heart. "My sister's Soul looks like that?" She nods. "Why is it red?' "Both your sister and myself possess Determination" "Determination?" "It's our core trait." "Do I possess Determination too?" "Yes." "So that's what the strange feeling is." She nods. "Well, it's time for you to go." "How come?" "You can't stay here forever and there's no other way here besides your dreams and thoughts." "I can't leave so I'll just stay here. Please stay away from me and don't try and help me." "Why?" "It's time to get up." "Goodbye, Michael." "Wait, Chara!"


	9. Waterfall and Impending Danger

Chapter 8: Waterfall and Impending Danger

I open my eyes. I'm not sure where I am until I look around and remember. I had spent the night at the Snowdin Inn. I had slept really well and it had been nice to see Chara. I am filled with that strange feeling again. What did Chara call it? Determination. I get up and I walk downstairs. The inn manager is smiling. "Hope you slept well human." "Do you wish to stay another night?" "I may return to the village at some point possibly, but for now, I must continue my journey." The innkeeper nods "Safe travels, Human and let us know if you find the 8th child." "She passed through here maybe a month ago." I nod.

I step out into the snow and continue walking forward. Before I leave Snowdin, I pay a visit to the store. I buy some Cinnamon Bunnies, pay for the items and leave. I pass by several houses and past monsters of all sorts and varieties. What was the deal with Chara? Why didn't she want to be saved? Everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what. I shake my head. I can't worry about that now. I need to continue my journey. I walk towards the outskirts of Snowdin.

The path grows darker as I leave Snowdin. Snowdin reminds me of a simple town in the surface realm. I sigh "I miss Chara." I suddenly hear what sounds like my voice say "I miss Chara." Perplexed, I look around but all I can see is a flower. It is glowing blue but I don't understand why. "Hello?" "Hello?" It happened again. Is it coming from the flower? I need to be sure. "Chara, I think I like you!" "Chara, I think I like you!" Ok, that means the flower can copy my voice and everything I say. It was almost like an echo effect. Did that mean these were echo flowers? I guess that would make sense. I continue walking forward until I reach a waterfall. It looks so beautiful and I just sit there for a moment in awe of it. The water is cold and fresh and fills me with determination. Suddenly, I hear, "Papyrus!" I tense and duck into the bushes. A figure appears. She is wearing a full suit of body armor. She also carries what appears to be a blue spear. Papyrus appears "Hello, Undyne! I'm here to give my daily report." "Huh? Did I find a human?" "Yes I did." "Did I fight them?" "Of course I fought them valiantly!" "Did I capture them?" "Well, you see, no. I'm sorry, Undyne but they got through my clutches. I failed you." What Papyrus says next, turns my bones to dust. "Huh? What?" "You're going to go after the human yourself?" "But what about the other one?" "We don't have to kill them. We can…" Undyne turns towards Papyrus and he goes silent. "Yes, I see. I'll help you any way I can, Undyne." Papyrus walks away and I try to quietly crawl through the bushes but I trip and fall. This alerts her and she steps forward, spear in hand until she is standing just above me. She looks to the left, then to the right and then she walks away.

I breathe a sigh of relief, that was too close. I start to walk away when suddenly I hear a voice. "Woah, did you see that?" "That was awesome!" "How did you get so popular with her, anyway?" I don't have any words and so I stay silent. A monster appears. He's wearing a brown and yellow striped shirt and has a small horn on the top of his head. "I'm Monster Kid, by the way." I turn and smile "I'm Michael." "Man, isn't Undyne the coolest?" "I guess so." I mean, that spear was really cool but she did try to kill me. "Come on, let's go see her beat up some bad guys." He runs forward but then he stumbles and falls. "Are you okay?" "Don't worry, I'm fine." "Come on." He runs off and I follow.


	10. A Prophecy Revealed

I walk into the next area but Monster Kid is gone. "Where did he go?" I see a stand and behind it is "Sans?" Huh? What is Sans doing here? He's got his chair leaned back and he's snoring. I tap his shoulder. "Not now, Papyrus, I'm catching some zzz's." "Sans?" He opens his eyes. "Huh, what?" The chair leans back and he tumbles over. I can't help but chuckle. "Geez, you trying to mess with me, kiddo?" "No, I just saw you with your eyes closed and I don't know. I just wanted to see if you were actually sleeping." "Hey, no worries, kid." I smile but then I start thinking about Frisk. Does Sans know? "Hey, Sans?" "Yeah?" "Have you seen the girl recently?" "Not since she left Waterfall." "She was here?" "Yeah, we went and had lunch back in Snowdin maybe an hour or two before you showed up." "Really?" That meant Frisk couldn't be far. Still I wanted to be sure. "Sans, what does the girl look like?" "I'd say maybe a year or two older than you, maybe an inch or two shorter, brown hair, blue eyes, she is wearing a pink and blue jumper." Well that confirms it. He does know Frisk. "Hey Sans, can I ask you something?" "Sure, kiddo." "If you see the girl again, ask her if she knows a boy." "Tell her the boy has brown hair, golden eyes and is wearing a red shirt with a green stripe." "Sure, kid." "Thank you, Sans." "Good luck, kid. I'll see you around."

I continue walking through Waterfall. It's so much calmer and peaceful here. But I still sense that danger is impending. That figure with the spear. They want to come after me. They want to kill me. I look in my pocket. The dagger I took what seems like a lifetime ago is still there. I must not have lost it when I came down here. I was actually glad to have it and I actually felt I could protect myself. The path grows dark and I can't see much. I start looking around for some sort of light source. There's a faint glow coming from somewhere. Curious, I follow the light source as the glow continues to brighten. I suddenly reach what looks like a crystal. Huh? A crystal? What is it doing here? I touch the crystal and it starts glowing. It's almost as if the crystal is resonating with my hand. I can't remove my hand at first and I stay silent, trying not to worry. I hear a voice. "The Angel has come to save us all. But will they be able to stay alive inside when they've lost everything?." The path illuminates and now I can see everything. I am able to remove my hand from the crystal which is now glowing brightly. I need to process what's going on. Whose voice was that? I don't recognize it. I replay what the voice said in my head. Who is the Angel? What did the voice mean by staying alive inside? Also, what did it mean by losing everything?

I walk down the path until it divides into two paths. A path that goes east and a path heading south. I could continue down the eastern path which I have a feeling is the route I need to go down. However, I'm curious about the southern path. What could be down there? Curiosity gets the better of me and I decide to head down the southern path. As I continue down the path, I start to hear a faint noise. It sounds like, "Music?" As I continue down the path, the music gets louder, I start to groan. It is the worst sounding music I've ever heard. The music, I feel like is supposed to make you happy, but it makes me want to tear my hair out. I continue down the path and see that the music is playing on a music box. I look and I see monsters dancing? "Hoi!" The monsters suddenly stop dancing and the music stops. I breathe a sigh of relief. That music was atrociously bad. The monsters surround me and look at me. "Um, hello." A path opens up and another monster appears. She must be their leader. She's the only one wearing clothes and she has a cape. She's wearing a white and green striped shirt and a blue cape. "Hoi, I'm Tem! Leader of the Temmies!" Tem and all the Tems look like cats except they don't have four legs and they act like dogs. "What brings you here?" "Sorry, my name is Michael and I'm a human." "hooman?" "You a hooman?" "You like the other hooman?" "Other human?" "young girl, cute, blue eyes, brown hair, blue and pink jumper." I gasp. Frisk has been here too! "You young boy, disheveled, skinny, malnourished, brown hair like hers, golden eyes, you're nearly broken but you still have a kind heart." "The girl was here?" "Maybe an hour ago." "Thanks, I gotta go." "Oh, ok, bye hooman." I say goodbye to the Tems and head back the way I came.


	11. A Vision from the Past

Chapter 10: A Vision from the Past

I feel a lot better once I finally leave the Tem Village. The music was awful and the temmies, to be honest, were kinda peculiar. Cats that acted like dogs? Also, what kind of music did they have down here? I really hope I never hear it again. I head back to the eastern path and start down the path once more. Thanks to lighting the crystal, the path is now brightly illuminated. I walk down the path until I reach a platform. Curious, I step on the platform. It slowly drifts away from the path across the water. Well, I guess I'm going wherever this takes me. The platform drifts me across the river until it eventually reaches the other side. I step off the platform and walk across the bridge.

I start down the new path on this side of the water. I suddenly tense. Something's wrong. "It's quiet, too quiet." Shwoop! A spear lands in front of my feet and I step back. I look up, it's the figure again. She starts chucking spears at me. I start running down the path, dodging spears as she throws them. I want to say something but it's better to just run. I barely avoid another spear and one grazes my shoulder. The cut is minor and bleeds very little. I keep running until I reach a dead end. I turn around. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. I'm trapped. I try doubling back but realize that there's nowhere I can go. I look down, I can't see where the ground is but if I could survive a fall from at least 9,000 feet, I'm betting this fall isn't half as far and probably just as survivable. I start walking back the way I came but suddenly I stop. The figure is back, she steps forward and she summons three spears. The spears slice across the road, cutting the bridge. The bridge shakes and snaps. The last thing I see is the figure as the bridge breaks, I fall backwards and everything fades to black...

I open my eyes. My head hurts and I can't see much. I look down but something's different. My red shirt with a green stripe is gone. This shirt is green and has a red stripe on it. I touch my face and gasp. Two large dimples? I didn't have any dimples or anything of any sort. So what's going on? Wait a second. Green shirt with red stripe, red eyes. Large dimples on the side of their face. There's only one person I can think of that looks like that. The female me. The girl who made my heart skip a beat. The girl who needs saving that doesn't want to be saved. Chara Dreemurr. But that still doesn't answer my questions. Why am I Chara and what's going on? I suddenly hear a voice I vaguely recognize. "Huh? It sounds like it came from over here?" The voice sounds like "Flowey?" A figure walks into view that I don't recognize. It looks like a young goat child. The only goat monster I've seen is Toriel. So who is this? They are wearing a green and white striped shirt. "Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you?" I try to speak but no words come out. "Here, let me help you up." I try to speak but the only words I can say are "My name is Chara." "Chara, huh? That's a nice name." "My name is-"


	12. The Quiet Before the Storm

Chapter 11: The Quiet Before the Storm

I wake up suddenly. Was it all a dream? It seemed so real. Chara literally is the female me. The only difference is she has dimples, red eyes, carries a knife, and wears a green shirt with a red stripe. Meanwhile, I have golden eyes, carry a dagger and wear a red shirt with a green stripe. Whenever I see her, my heart skips a beat. She fills me with this strange feeling. Is it determination? I don't think so. She makes me smile, she makes me happy, but she also makes me nervous, she scares me, but at the same time, she intrigues me. Who is she really? Why does she not want to be saved? If I only knew why. I have a feeling I'm going to find out, one way or another. I try to process the dream. Who is that goat child? Was that a memory or a flashback from Chara's past? The voice sounded like Flowey but it didn't look like him. I have a feeling I am going to found out who it is, one way or another. Now, where am I now?

I look around. I am surrounded by water but I am resting on a dry bed of golden flowers. These are just like the ones I saw in Snowdin and the ones I woke up on back in the Ruins. I lift myself up. The fall must have been maybe 1,000 feet or so. I can't see where I fell from but that's to be expected. I get up and I start walking. I reach a save point, and I save my progress. I continue down the path until water starts to appear. The water is up to my ankles and I can easily traverse it. I start walking and I see a cooler. "Huh? What's a cooler and what's it doing down here?' I open the cooler to see what's inside. "Astronaut food?" "What the heck is this and what's an astronaut?" I have so many questions and no answers to them. I walk past the cooler to see a dummy. It's not Richard though. This dummy looks different. I reach forward and gave the dummy a hug. I sigh and start to walk away when I suddenly hear a splashing noise. I turn and look. The dummy's gone! I turn around and the Dummy is in front of me. "Ha Ha, too terrified to fight me, huh?" "I'm a ghost that lives inside a dummy!" " My cousin used to live inside a dummy too until YOU CAME ALONG! I thought you were different but the things you said. HORRIBLE! DISTASTEFUL! Human I Will remove your SOUL from your body!

Huh? What is this dummy going on about? I don't have time to respond as suddenly I am surrounded by more dummies. They fire what looks like wispies at me? At first, I stand still and it hits me. "Ow!" My HP falls to 18/20. The second attack comes and I run around while the wispies follow. I am able to dodge them and the wispies hit the dummy. He gets angry. "Ow! You dummies, watch where you are aiming those magic attacks." Magic attacks? Is that what the wispies are? The dummy seemed to notice my reaction. "Hey, you, forget what I said about Magic." The dummies attack again and the same thing occurs. I dodge the attack and the wispies hit the dummy. After a while, he tries moving around but his attacks are becoming predictable. All I have to do is lead the wispies toward the dummy. Finally the wispies hit the dummy one last time and he finally snaps.

"Hey Dummies!" The dummies appear. "Remember how I told you not to hit me?" "Well, failures, you're all being replaced!" The dummies vanish and are replaced with different dummies. "Ha Ha Ha Ha!" I'm confused. These dummies look exactly like the other ones. Are they all the same? Plus, aren't replacements usually worse? "Dummy Bots! Magic Missile!" Magic what? A projectile heads towards me and hits me. "OW!" My HP falls to 15/20. "Dummy Bots! Again!" The projectiles fire and I know what to do this time. I lead the projectiles towards the dummy where they start hitting him. "Dummy Bots! Again!" The result is the same. I lead the missles to the dummy. Eventually, the dummy gets angry. "What the Heck? These guys are even worse than the other guys." "No matter, I don't need friends. He pulls out a knife. "I've got knives!" He chucks the knife at me and I dodge. "I'm uh out of knives." "Who cares? I can't die and you can't get past me. "You'll be trapped here fighting me forever! Forever! Forever! Suddenly he staggers. "Gah! What is this? Acid rain? Whatever, I'm out of here."

The dummy leaves. "Who saved me?" A ghost appears. "Oh, I'm sorry. I showed up and your friend left. Oh no, you looked like you were having fun." "Sorry, this is awkward." "Sorry..." "You saved my life, thank you." "I did? Oh, I didn't know. Sorry. I'm going to head home. You can come over if you want but if you're busy, I understand." The ghost floats off. I eat a cinnamon bunny to restore my HP and follow the ghost. I reach a pair of houses. One is blue and the other one is red. I try the red one. It's locked and so I knock on the blue door. "Hello, Oh you came, I didn't expect you." "Anyways, make yourself at home." I walk around the house. It is actually quite simple and quaint. There's a bunch of things I've never seen before. I'm amazed by it all. "What is this?" "Oh that's the fridge." "Are you hungry?" My stomach rumbles. The cinnamon bunny restores my HP but doesn't satiate my hunger. I nod.

"Here, try this." He hands me a plate with a sandwich on it. I try to take a bite but the food goes right through me. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that would happen. Sorry." "It's okay." "After a good meal, I like to lay on the floor and feel like garbage." "You can join me if you want or not, it's up to you." "Who are you?' "I'm Napstablook." "Napstablook huh? Thank you for saving me." "Huh? Oh, you're welcome then." I lay down next to Napstablook and close my eyes…


	13. Chara's Backstory

Chapter 12: Chara's Backstory

I am back at the room with the stone pillars. I hear a voice. "No!" "Frisk, no please!" I hear running and I hear the sound of a body hitting the floor. I look from behind a wall to see Frisk, dead. Her Soul has been taken. I'm sitting there, motionless. "Then suddenly, " _ **You killed her."**_ I hear another voice. " **You were not supposed to see that."** " _ **You killed my sister!"**_ The dagger appears in Michael's hand. " _ **Now I'm going to make you pay."**_ He charges the monster. It's a goat monster like Toriel with a crown on his head and a trident in his hand. The monster fights back but doesn't stand a chance. Michael knocks the monster down and Michael stands over them, dagger in hand. _**Any last words?"**_ No, this can't be real, I would never, this can't be. It must be a dream, it has to be.

I wake up and I'm shaking. It was only a dream. Nothing more. Then why was it so vivid? Why did it feel so real? Frisk… She's fine. Frisk can handle herself. Still, if she's alive and out there somewhere, then I need to find her. I want to see her again. I want her to know that I'm alive. But I have no idea where she is. My thoughts revert back to Chara again. I wish I could understand my feelings toward her. Why does she want me to stay away? Why does she carry that knife? What is her past? Maybe if I know the answer, I'll be able to understand. I sigh and close my eyes again. It was just a dream. Nothing more. But the images keep flashing through my head. I am brought back to the room with the stone pillars. Chara is here. She turns to me. "What are you doing here?" "It's my Soul, I can come here whenever I want. Besides, I wanted to talk to you." "Why would you wanna talk to me?" "I want to talk to you. Please. I don't understand why you're hostile to me. Where's the Chara I saw when I gave you the golden flower?" "I don't want to talk about it!" "It's okay. "Huh?" She looks at me surprised. "You're not gonna try and force me to tell you or be stubborn?" "No, I guess that I'll never know." "But if you don't want to tell me your past, I'll at least tell you mine." "Your past?" " Yeah, I want you to know."

"As I already told you, I am the younger brother of Frisk." "I still don't understand why she didn't tell me." "We both grew up in a poor family but my parents treated Frisk like an angel descended from heaven. Anything she wanted she got to have. My parents worked tirelessly to fulfill her every desire." "What about you?" "Me? I was nobody. A piece of trash that needed to be thrown away that someone for some reason was keeping around. I was bullied, harassed, and treated like the scum of the earth." She gasps and her eyes meet mine. "You were?" "Yeah, humanity hated me, they turned their backs on me and made me miserable." "Frisk was all I had on the surface. When she disappeared, things got worse. I tried to move forward but after a month, I snapped. I snuck out, stole a dagger and jumped down the hole, hoping to kill myself and end my suffering. Instead, I survived and now I'm hoping to find my sister." "Frisk is all I have in this world. I can't lose her too." "I know, Chara that something caused this to happen and you to be like this." "If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. I'll respect that."

"Your story." "Huh?" I notice that her demeanor is changing. She looks upset. "Your story is like mine." "It is?" "Yeah, I hated humanity and they turned their back on me but, I went to the Underground for a different reason." "Why?" "400 years ago, I lived on the surface. I was constantly bullied and poorly treated. It helped me grow a tough skin. I learned how to fight and became a master with a knife. I heard a rumor while walking through the village that anyone who climbs Mount Ebott, never returns." "I know the rumour. "I climbed the mountain with my best friend to prove them wrong but then I tripped and I fell down the hole. I survived somehow but I was lost and confused. Someone rescued me, a goat child, with a green and yellow striped shirt on. "A goat child?" I think back to the dream I had after I fainted when the bridge broke. Could they possibly be the same person? "He rescued me and brought me to his parents. A loving mother named Toriel and a kind father named Asgore." I know who Toriel is but who is Asgore? "They tended to me, cared for me, adopted me and raised me as their second child." "Toriel is your mom?" "Yeah, she and Asgore cared for me and the goat child and I became siblings and were best friends."

"But then, something happened. "What happened?" "Remember how the monsters were trapped Underground by the Barrier spell?" "Yeah, I remember, why?" "I had a plan to save the monsters and break the barrier." "What was your plan?" "My plan was that we could take a few human Souls and use their power to break the barrier." "However there was a catch. A monster isn't powerful enough to cross the barrier and I wasn't powerful enough either. I suddenly put two and two together and I'm shocked. "You sacrificed yourself to try and save the monsters." "How did you figure it out?" "I'm guessing that the goat child then used your soul to cross the barrier." She looks at me stunned as I put the pieces together. "He failed in his mission and the humans killed him. You felt betrayed because he didn't trust you, then you woke up in Frisk's Soul and now you're here." "How did you put that together? That's correct but how?" "Did Frisk tell you?" I shake my head. "I haven't seen Frisk in months."

"Do you understand what this means? "I'm not 100% sure." "Michael, we're the same." "You mean?" "Our backstories are nearly identical, we look nearly identical and we both have a connection to Frisk." "Michael, our paths have intertwined and we think alike." I gasp. "You're right." Everything she said was true. "Michael, I care for Frisk too. A long time ago, I couldn't stand her, she is so happy, cheery and friendly. She has a heart of gold and her determination knows no bounds." "But when I ended up in her Soul, I tried to help her. I guided her, gave her advice but I also tried to convince her to change course." " Change course?" "I tried to convince her to kill the monsters and make them feel my suffering." "You tried to drive Frisk to kill?" "She only did it once of her free will out of curiosity and ended up regretting it." "The other times, I took control and killed everything." "Frisk is insanely stubborn, you had no chance of convincing her." "It's also a result of her determination, making her even more stubborn." "Didn't you say I have determination also?" "Yes, but you have something more that I can't detect." "Also, you're different than your sister." "You're trying to be friendly not because you want to, but because you think it's the right thing to do." "You've been influenced by your kind hearted sister. There's a reason why she's called the Child of Mercy and the Pure Pacifist." "It's not like you're pretending but more like you're trying to maintain control. You're trying to keep yourself together." "Frisk is all I have in this world that brings me joy. Without her, I have nothing." "I'm worried about her. I hope we find her soon." "I hope so too. She can't be far." "Well now you know everything. Does that make you feel better?" "I just wanted to understand you better. "What's there to understand?" "It's not like I'm going anywhere." "Don't even bother trying to save me and stay away from me." "You aborted my genocide and I still haven't forgiven you for that." "Now, go. Wake up."


	14. Journey through the Cavern

Chapter 13: Journey through the Cavern

I open my eyes. Where am I? I wrap my head trying to recall. I was in Waterfall, then the bridge broke, then I fought a dummy and then. "I'm sorry, but I've gotta leave so you have to leave." "Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude or anything." Oh right. I was at Napstablook's house. Napstablook saved me from the mad dummy. Then I followed him to his house and he let me stay. I tried to eat a ghost sandwich but I failed. I was in awe of all the really cool things Napstablook has. I didn't know what half the stuff was. I have never seen anything like it before and so I am curious. I had then taken a nap with Napstablook and had another nightmare. I hear the voices in my head. "Kill, Kill, Kill." "It's kill or be killed." "Someone please help me!" "Good luck and farewell, Michael." They fill me with dread and I can't think straight. I close my eyes and my Soul becomes visible. Glowing like a rainbow. But then that images of Frisk pops into my head, of me snapping out of anger. My Soul turns darker, black tinges appear on the side of the Soul and all the colors have become darker and I suddenly feel like something bizarre happened. My surroundings become static but then revert back to normal. Huh? What? The Soul returns to normal. What was that?What's happening? I don't know what to do but I can think of one person who might understand what's going on.

I walk out of the house and say goodbye to Napstablook. "I hope I was a good host and that you enjoyed your time here." "Sorry, I don't get visitors very often." "It's okay, Napstablook, I had a great time." "You were a great host and you had so many cool things." "Oh, I'm glad then." "Thank you, Napstablook." "Goodbye, maybe I'll see you again." "We'll just have to wait and see." I walk down the path and suddenly recognize how calm and tranquil things are here. I reach a save point and discover why. The area is called the Quiet Area. That actually makes a lot of sense. I continue moving forward and realize I'm still in Waterfall. Now that I have left the quiet area, I feel a sense of dread. I sense that the figure in the body armor is out there somewhere looking for me. I look to my left and see a basket. It's full of umbrellas? I'm confused. Does it rain in the Underground? How exactly does that work? Well they must be here for a reason. I grab one and continue walking.

Sure enough, it starts to rain or at least water comes down from the caverns. I am walking down the path looking at the puddles when I hear a familiar voice. "Yo, you got an umbrella? Sweet! Let's get going then."  
"Hey Monster Kid." I smile as Monster Kid follows me walking down the path. It's almost as if he's mimicking my movements, trying to see if he can copy me. I look down, he looks down, I move right, he moves right. "Man, isn't Undyne the coolest?" "I guess?" I mean, what am I supposed to say? She's hunting me down and trying to kill me. How am I supposed to react? Oh, sure, the figure with the body armor and blue spears trying to kill me is the coolest thing ever! It doesn't matter that they probably want me dead, they're the coolest! What would I be saying? I'm not that delusional. "You guess? Man, she beats up bad guys, goes on heroic adventures and never loses." That last part turns my bones to ice. She's never lost? Well, I better hope Frisk wins and that I do as well. "If I were a human, I'd be wetting the bed every night, knowing that she was going to beat me up." I guess Monster Kid hasn't realized yet that I'm a human.

We start walking down the path and the rain starts to weaken. I guess it was coming from the caverns above us. But I still don't understand how it works. It looks like rainwater, feels like rainwater and tastes like rainwater. It also doesn't make sense that loads of water would have been stored for that long. I guess it's better not to talk about it. Monster Kid stops walking and turns to me. "One time, we had to do a project at our school. We had to take care of a flower." "The King, we had to call him "Mr. Dreemurr," brought flowers from his own garden. He then came to our school and taught us about responsibility." "Huh, sounds like an interesting story." "That got me thinking, Yo! How cool would it be if Undyne came to our school?" "She could beat up all the teachers." "Maybe." The thought of seeing that figure in the black body armor wielding a blue spear at a school, didn't sound very cool. "Um, actually she probably wouldn't beat up the teachers." "She's way too nice to do that." I am a little worried. Monster Kid patronizes Undyne as this great savior and heroic hero. I portray them as a murderous assassin trying to kill me.

We walk out of the cavern and the rain stops. The wind is blowing and I shiver a little bit. I almost imagine what things were like back home, but then I block it out. I left that behind. I just want to find my sister. "Dude, look can you see it?" I turn to my left, there in the distance is a familiar looking building. "It's a castle." "Not just any castle though." "The castle of King Asgore." That's where I need to go. That's where I'll find my sister and get my happy ending. "Right, It's nice to just come sit here and look at the stars and the castle in the distance." "I bet it is. It's actually kind of nice." We continue down the path until we reach a ledge. I jump up and I grab hold and lift myself up. The ledge wasn't too high and I'm a good jumper. "You go on ahead and see Undyne. I'll find another way around." He runs back the way he came, trips and falls again and then gets up and continues running. "What a weird kid."


	15. The Prophecy of the Angel

Chapter 14: The Prophecy of the Angel

I walk down the path which thanks to the crystals from earlier are illuminated as well. I walk down the path until I encounter a monster. The monster looks like a turtle with a duck on it's back. It's carrying soap and water? I look at my clothes. They are torn and wet and dirty. "Human, you dirty, Woshua clean you up." Huh? Was this monster offering to clean me up? "Sure, thanks." Woshua blasts a torrent of water, getting my entire body wet. He takes a sponge and starts scrubbing, cleaning all the dirt and dust off of my body and clothes. He even gives me a sponge to wash my hair while he does the rest. When all is said and done, he smiles "Human, all clean now." The duck hands me a mirror and I gasp. My body is now clean as a whistle and I feel like a different person. I feel alive. "Thank you, Woshua." "Human pay Woshua 10g for service." I smile and pull out the money. Just as I'm about to give it to Woshua, I stop. "You know what, Woshua, since your service was so good, I'll give you double. I hand Woshua 20g and he smiles. "Thank you, kind human, farewell." "Bye, Woshua." I smile and wave as I walk away…

I smile in content as I continue down the path. Woshua was so kind and friendly. I can't believe he was kind enough to clean my body and my clothes. Whatever my teachers told me about monsters was baloney. The monsters were so kind and friendly. They waved, they smiled. In fact, they acted more human than the actual humans in Ebott Village. Wow, did I really just say that? It's true though. The monsters actually care. Toriel took care of me, Woshua got me all clean and Papyrus and Sans want to be my friend. What else had I been lied to about? I've always felt out of place in the surface realm. It's almost as if I don't belong here. Wait, what am I saying? I'm a human. Why wouldn't I belong in the surface realm? It's my home after all, isn't it? The images flash through my head. Being bullied, Frisk consoling me, talking to the village leader, who called me a coward, frisk's disappearance, my final beating at the hands of the villager kids when I finally snapped. Wait, what? I don't remember that happening at all. All I remember from that day was that I closed my eyes and when I opened them, the kids were staring at me in horror. I didn't understand and I didn't know how one of the kids had ended up in the river and one of the other kids ended up against the wall. I barely remember what happened. I can't recall what caused the incident but it was probably like the others.

I walk down the pathway and pass a field of echo flowers. "So these are the echo flowers again." "So these are the echo flowers again." Well, they still copy you and mimic your voice. I expect that by this point though. I still have a feeling of dread as I walk down the path. I reach another billboard similar to the ones back in Snowdin. These boards however look older and have obviously been here for a long time. It reads  
"There is however a prophecy. An Angel, one who has seen the surface, will descend to our world and the Underground will go empty." Huh. An angel? That crystal from earlier, when I touched it, It said something about an angel. That the angel had come to save them all but would they be able to stay alive inside if they lost everything. The image of Frisk flashes through my head again, and I suddenly feel different. I want to prevent my sister's death. I want to save her. If she dies… It happens again. That moment of static and then back to normal. What the heck is going on? I need to talk to Chara. She might know what's going on.

I continue down the path and past the echo flowers. The path starts to grow dark and I can't see much. I feel water underneath my feet. Oh, well, couldn't stay dry forever. I can barely see in front of me but I hear something. Curious, I walk towards the sound. It's an echo flower. It's saying something. "TURN AROUND." Huh? Turn Around? The room brightens, I turn and I see her. The figure with the body armor. She takes a step forward then stops. "Seven. Seven human Souls. With the power of Seven humans Souls, our King Asgore Dreemurr will become a god. With that power, Asgore will finally destroy the barrier and take the surface realm back from humanity. He will pay them back all the suffering we have endured." "Do you understand, human?" "This is your final chance at redemption." Huh? Redemption? Suffering? None of what she is saying makes sense. "Give up your Soul child." She summons a spear and I tense, my hand reaching for my dagger. "Or I will tear it from your body." She takes a step forward, then another, then charges. I pull out my dagger, prepared to defend myself when suddenly. "Undyne! I'll help you fight!" Monster Kid appears from the bushes. He looks at Undyne, then at me, then back to Undyne and finally back to me. "Yo, dude! You did it! Undyne is standing right there! You got front row seats to her fight!" Man is Monster Kid dense? Yes, Undyne is right there and he sees the spear in her hands. But he still can't put two and two together. "Wait… Who is she fighting?" Undyne grabs Monster Kid by the face and drags him off. "Ouch, wait you're not gonna tell my parents about this, are you?"


	16. Making a Friend

Chapter 15: Making a Friend

Well that's that then. I put my dagger away and I walk back the way I came when suddenly I see a path that I didn't see earlier. Curious, I follow the path, walking through ankle high water and passing more flowers. Hunger starts to get to me. Odd. Since hunger usually isn't a major issue because I don't eat often. Maybe that pie restored my appetite. It's possible. I still have some in my pocket and Toriel told me the rest would be kept somewhere safe to be used at my disposal. I grab a cinnamon bunny out of my pocket and I take a bite. It tastes like a cinnamon bun. I guess I should have expected that. It tastes really good though. I reach a save point. I click it and take a good look at it. It says Michael LV 0 Waterfall. What is LV? Didn't Flowey mention something about it? I flashback to when I met him in the Ruins. "What does LV stand for? Why it's LOVE of course." Ok. So he said LOVE, not love. So LV is LOVE. Does LOVE stand for something? I wish I knew. I continue down the path until I reach a bridge. I'm a little uneasy. The last time I was on a bridge, Undyne used her spears to cut the road, breaking the part of the bridge I was on. I fell 1,000 feet, fainted and had to deal with a bunch of other things as a result. I fear she's close by and I have no idea what happened to Monster Kid. I start walking slowly across the bridge. The bridge supports my weight and I feel a little more reassured. I'm almost to the other side of the bridge when I hear. "Yo!" I turn and see Monster Kid on the opposite side of the bridge that I am. Well I guess he's okay. Wait a second, I tense. I thought Undyne had taken him home. Did that mean she was close by?

He walks across the bridge over to me. "Yo dude, listen I need to ask you something." "Huh? You need to ask me something?" "I'm sorry, I've never had to do this before." What is he talking about? "Hey listen, you're a human right?" Now he puts two and two together. But am I really a human? That static and that change in my SOUL and appearance. What did it mean? I nod. "Yeah, I thought so. Listen, I know I shouldn't be here. Undyne told me to stay away from you. She said "You stay away from that human." "I guess that makes us enemies then, huh?" Huh? Is Monster Kid going to fight me? He's not carrying a weapon. "But you see I'm not very good at insulting people." Where is Monster Kid going with this? "So, you think you could possibly insult me so I can be mad at you?" What? He wants me to insult him so we'll be enemies? But why? "I want to be friends." "Fine then, here I go. I hate your guts." I can tell his heart isn't in it and that he forced that out. "Man I feel like such a turd." "I'm gonna go home." He turns around and starts running when suddenly he trips. Undyne appears on the other side of the bridge and starts walking towards us. "Monster Kid!" I turn, leap forward and his mouth comes down on my hand, his teeth digging into my hand. I wince, and try not to scream. I take my other hand and pull him up. He smiles at me and then turns to Undyne. "If you want to hurt my friend, then you're gonna have to go through me, first." I'm surprised. Just a second ago, he idolized her, now he's protecting me because I saved him? Undyne steps backwards, turns and walks away. I am shocked. "I can't believe you stood up to your idol." "Yeah, guess us being enemies was a longshot then." "Guess we'll just have to be friends." I smile and give Monster Kid a hug. "Now go home, your parents are probably worried about you." "Hey, I never got your name." "It's Michael." "Cool, see you later Michael." He turns and walks away. I smile. "He's a good kid. A little dense but has a good heart." I cross the bridge and continue walking down the path.


	17. Spear of Justice

Chapter 16: Spear of Justice

I continue walking down the path and the surroundings begin to darken. The sky is red? Wait, I'm in the Underground. There's no sky. There are mountains ahead and a pathway in between. The wind starts to howl and I feel a sense of dread. She's here, I just know it. The only question is where? I am about to reach a save point when suddenly I hear it. Shwoop! A spear narrowly misses me. I look up and standing at the top of the peaks is her. Papyrus calls her Undyne so I'm assuming that's her name. Seven. Seven human souls, and King ASGORE will become a god. Six. That's how many we have collected thus far. Six human souls collected? Is that what happened to the other children? Their SOULS were taken from them? Understand? Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed. Asgore wants my SOUL? He probably wants Frisk's SOUL too. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far... I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. "Sure, I'm up for a good story." I actually want to hear what Undyne has to say. It all started, long ago.. Long ago? I wonder how long ago? No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!? NGAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Well things just went south really quickly. Undyne's helmet is off, revealing. "You're a fish?" Undyne stares angrily. YOU! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams!"I am?" Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool... ...with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen. Giant robots? Flowery Swordswoman? What on earth is she talking about? BUT YOU? You're just a coward! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!I wasn't hiding behind them though. I was saving his life. My hand still hurts from that. "And let's not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes-shtick! Wimpy goody two shoes shtick? Oooh! I'm making such a difference by hugging random strangers!" 'I'm just trying to be nice." "You're just putting on an act. It's all fake!" "But-" You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD! I gulp. "Dead?" That's right, human! Your continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom! Am I really all that stands in the way between the monsters and freedom? "Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment!" "But we're not nervous at all. When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose!" "Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!"

Well, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I can't go back now. I know how to fight but I don't want to fight her. I eat a piece of Toriel's pie. My head clears and my wounds heal. I head over to the Save Point. "The wind is howling. You know an epic battle is brewing. You are filled with Determination. I save my progress and calmly pull out my dagger and step forward. As I near the entrance of the pathway, I look up at Undyne. "That's it then. No more running. Here I come! She leaps down, her spear angling towards my head. I swing my dagger upward, blocking her strike. I jump back and she stands in front of me. "En Guarde!" She swings her spear and my SOUL turns Green. Huh? So Papyrus is blue and Undyne is green? Spears start coming at me from above. I place my dagger up, blocking her strikes. Undyne sneers. As long as you're GREEN you CAN'T ESCAPE! Unless you learn to face danger head-on... You won't last a SECOND against ME!" "Undyne I don't want to fight you." I block her second strike. Not bad! Then how about THIS!? Spears start coming from the left and right and I have to move around to dodge them. "For years, we've dreamed of a happy ending. And now, sunlight is just within our reach! I won't let you snatch it away from us!

I begin to notice that there's a pattern. Her attacks are consistent and not overly random. Her first attack was just down. The second attack was up and down. Her third attack was up down left right. This means for her fourth attack, she'll change tactics. "NGAHHH! Enough warming up!" The fourth attack. Left Right Up Down, Right Down, Left, Up. It's like a game of rhythm. "Undyne please let me go. I wish to spare you and show you MERCY." Undyne starts laughing and my Soul turns back to normal. "Mercy! Ha! I still can't believe YOU want to spare ME! But even if I spared YOU, No human has EVER made it past ASGORE! No humans have ever made it past Asgore? That fills me with uncertainty and dread. My movements slow and her next attack grazes my shoulder, wounding me. My bar says HP 18/20. I move quickly before she can strike again. "Honestly, killing you now is an act of mercy...!" Killing me is an act of mercy? Then what's considered a terrible act or crime? Sparing me? I block her strike and it hits her. She growls. "So STOP being so damn resilient!" "What the hell are humans made out of!?" Undyne has a point. Somehow I'm still going, making her angry. "Anyone else would be DEAD by now!" Really? Her attacks are getting faster but not necessarily harder.

"Alphys told me humans were determined." Alphys? Who is that? I deflected a spear, sending it into the cave. "I see now what she meant by that!" But I'm determined, too! Determined to end this RIGHT NOW! Something's different. Her attacks are becoming more erratic but also weaker. She's getting tired _._ "RIGHT NOW!" I deflect the spears back at here as her attacks begin to slow. "RIGHT NOW!""Ha... Ha…" "Undyne, please. I can see you're getting tired and I don't want to fight. Please, let me spare you." She swings her spear at me and I jump back. "NGAHHH! DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" "I WILL NEVER TAKE MERCY FROM THE LIKES OF YOU!""YOU! WILL! NEVER! SPARE! ME!" This isn't working." "She won't accept my mercy." "I guess I've got only one option." I need to get past her somehow, I need a distraction. "Undyne!" "What!?" "Before you kill me or capture me, I want to know something?" "Ngahhh! Why should I tell you anything?" "I just want to know what your favorite food is." "Nice cream, everybody knows that." That's it! I point to the left. "Look, nice cream!" "Huh? Where!?" Undyne turns and I take my chance. I run forward and slide underneath Undyne into the cave. "Huh? Hey get back here, you little brat!" I bolt through the cave and run as fast as I can when suddenly, RING! RING! RING! Huh? My phone is ringing? Oh, right, the cell phone Toriel gave me. I had completely forgotten about that. I clicked a button and a voice came out. "Hello, Human!" "Papyrus, now is not a good time." "I was thinking, you me and Undyne should totally hang out." Is he insane? "She's trying to kill me!" "Well, nobody starts out as good friends." "I know, let's all meet at her house later." "I'm not sure that's a" "Then it's settled! See you later Human!" Click… Dang it Papyrus! I keep running, hoping Undyne won't catch me. "You can't escape me!" I see a sign. As I run by it it says. Now leaving Waterfall. Where am I going now? Well, looks like I'm about to find out…


	18. Welcome to Hotland

Chapter 17: Welcome to Hotland

I start to notice the surroundings change and I suddenly feel hot. I wipe my brow as I realize that I'm sweating. "Well, I'm not in Snowdin or Waterfall anymore." I stop for a second. Did I lose her? It seems like I might have. I see a sign to my left. "Welcome to Hotland." Hotland huh? How clever. I guess when they were coming up with a name for this place, they just noticed it was hot, and so they said "Hey let's call it HOTLAND!" I chuckle at that. I start walking forward and have just reached another bridge when suddenly I hear "You little punk!" I turn, Undyne is running towards me. "Uh oh." I turn and run toward the the bridge is a station. At the station is "Sans!" I try to get his attention but to no avail and I bolt across the bridge. It supports my weight and I quickly reach the other side. Undyne follows but her movements slow. "Ugh. So hot, but I can't give up now!" She collapses. I'm guessing she got dehydrated. I look to my left and see a water cooler. I grab a cup of water and pour the water on Undyne. I sure hope this works. She gets up, looks at me, turns and walks away.

Phew. Glad that's over. It is nothing like Snowdin here where snow is abundant and it's a lot colder. I look down to see what looks like a river of fire. "Cool." I continue walking down the path until it finally diverges into 4 paths. There is a northern path, a southern path, an eastern path or I can go back the way I came. I need to remember what I need to do before I hopefully leave this place, preferably with my sister alive and well by my side. The image flashes again and the static happens again. Why does that keep happening? Why does it feel- familiar? Almost natural? No, this isn't normal. I'm lost and confused but I'm not afraid. No, I can survive this place. I can save my sister. I can't lose hope. I have to stay determined.

"Let's go south." I turn and walk down the southern path. Initially I don't notice much but then I start to notice objects spread across the ground. There is a lasso, ballerina shoes, a toy gun, a red bow, a frying pan, a book on the history of monsters and humans, a toy knife, gloves, and a cowboy hat. This normally wouldn't be a big deal. But, I am in the Underground and these are all human objects. Where did all these come from? Could these possibly have come from the 6 children who came before me? I take a closer look at the items. I have room to carry them all but I can use a process of elimination to learn more about the other children. First, there is a lasso. The child who possessed it must be a fan of cowboys or something. They probably also own the cowboy hat and toy gun. Etched on the cowboy hat is a name: Clover. This must belong to a child named Clover. Next come the ballerina shoes. There's a name on them. It says Sally. These obviously must belong to a girl who enjoys dancing. The red bow, probably belongs to another girl. The name on it is Diana. The frying pan most likely belongs to someone who enjoys cooking. I pick up the book and open it. It contains the entire history of monsters and humans. It even includes major events like the war between monsters and humans. There's a name on the cover. Jack. Huh. Next, I grab the knife. I wonder who this belongs to. I put the gloves on so I can keep my hands safe and gather the rest of the stuff. I can't carry all of it as I already have my steel dagger and gold in my pockets. I decide to store the items in a box and that I will return and get them.

I walk back the way I came but I am stopped. Two figures are blocking the path. They are carrying black spears and wearing black body armor. "I'm sorry, but Undyne like told us to keep the elevators closed. There's a human walking around wearing a pink and blue jumper and another wearing a red shirt with a green stripe." I look down and realize that's what I'm wearing. Uh oh. "We're just following orders." "We'll do our best, Miss Undyne." Phew. The guards don't put two and two together. I walk over to the east of the guards. I find what looks like a platform. Perplexed, I step on it. "Woah!" The platform launches me across the path and over towards a bridge. There is only one problem. The bridge is covered by lasers. Except something about these lasers is odd. There are orange ones and blue ones. I think about trying to navigate it but then I think against it.I walk down the eastward path until I finally reach what looks like a large building. Scrawled on the top of the doorway is the word Lab. Lab. Hmm. I wonder what this is.


	19. Dr Alphys Lab

Chapter 18: Dr. Alphys Laboratory

I open the door and walk inside. "Woah." I am in a large room full of science equipment. I walk forward and I suddenly notice the screens. They all are showing me. They are each showing different things involving me but still me nonetheless. It shows me on the bed of golden flowers I had landed on. Another shows Toriel guiding me through the catacombs. Then there is one showing me meeting Sans for the first time. The next few show me solving Papyrus' wacky puzzles. Then there is me picking up the golden flowers for Chara outside the Snowdin Inn. The next one shows me leaving Snowdin. The one after that, I stopped, shows my fight with Undyne. The last one shows me staring at the TV. Who did all this? How did they pull this off? They had cameras everywhere. How had I not noticed them? Of course, they must have been hidden.

I'm about to explore when I suddenly hear a door open. Walking out from behind the door is a monster that looks similar to a dinosaur with a white lab coat on. "Uh, oh." "I didn't expect you so soon." I'm not ready. I'm barely dressed. I've been so busy with the other child." The other child? Frisk has been here too! She can't be far. My name is Dr. Alphys." Dr. Alphys? What is your name child?" "Michael." "Michael, welcome to my laboratory." "This is all yours?" "Of course, I work for King Asgore." "King Asgore?" "Isn't that the guy who wants to take my soul?" "That's true, but I can assure you, I am not going to harm you child." "Alphys, I want you to know I didn't mean to hurt Undyne." "I know. She's my friend and I care for her." "Alphys, I came to ask for your help." "My help?" "There's this dark energy or power inside me." "I'm struggling with controlling it and I don't know what to do." Alphys nods and directs me over to a table. I lay down on my back and she starts examining me. She nods "I need to put you to sleep." I close my eyes and I am out like a light.

I open my eyes and all I can see is darkness. "Hello, is someone there?" " _Well, well, well, look who it is."_ Huh? Who said that? Who's that? I turn and I see a figure that looks like me. His eyes are glowing red with a burning fire and he has a bloody dagger in his hand. " _You thought it was that simple?" That you could just forget?" "It's not that easy." "I am part of you and you're part of me."_ "I don't understand." " _You're forgetting your purpose. Your goal, your mission. "I would've killed those monsters." "They tried to kill us." "Why do they deserve our mercy?"_ I back away from the figure. "You're a monster." " _Say that all you want, but just remember we're the same."_ " _Try and be as peaceful as you want, but the damage will soon be done."_ Huh? What did he mean by that? I look up but he's gone.

I return to my Soul. It takes me back to the day I snapped. I was getting beat up by the village kids and they were laughing at me and taunting me. My sister came to try and console me but the village kids hit her and knock her down. This is a breaking point. My eyes burn with a golden fire, my vision becomes static and I glitch. When I return to normal, I am breathing heavily, everyone is staring at me with fear, a kid is in the river and another is pinned against the wall. I gasp, turn and run. Frisk runs after me. I run into our room, slam the door, and start crying. Now I'm suddenly somewhere I don't recognize. I hear a voice. The voice is saying "You forget your mission." Huh? The other me said the same thing. My mission?

Then I'm awake again and Alphys is looking at me. "Umm, Dr. Alphys?" "Child, I want to do something." "Let's take a look at this," She pulls out a large book. It's very old looking and caked in dust. This book contains a record of every single Soul Trait. She cleans the dust off and then she opens the book. "This was written by Asgore's royal scientist who came before me, Dr. Gaster." " ?" "Yes, indeed." She looks through the pages. "The war, no." "The Dreemurr Family, no." "Asgore's plan, no." The Dreemurr Family. Why does that seem so familiar? She flips through several more pages and then stops. "Here it is." "Every known Soul and their Traits." "Okay, let's try it."

Chapter 1: Patience _Children with the Trait of Patience have light blue souls. They have kind hearts but are often quite shy and uncomfortable. They are very patient and they use this to their advantage. This however, has always been considered the weakest power._ Hmm, I'm patient. Could this be my trait? No, my soul would have only been light blue. Next...

Chapter 2: Integrity _Children with a dark blue soul possess integrity as their core trait. They can sense dishonesty and can detect threats. They are somewhat shy and can be scared easily. They make great allies and are loyal._ My Soul also has a dark blue part to it. Do I possess multiple traits?

Chapter 3: Bravery _Children with the trait of bravery have orange souls. They are often proud and confident and will fight no matter the odds. This power is second strongest along with perseverance and is a power only superseded by Determination._ Hmm. My SOUL has an Orange part too. Do I possess all of these?

Chapter 4: Perseverance _Ahh, Perseverance, the trait of never giving up. Of pushing on no matter what. The blue SOUL. This power is second strongest along with bravery and is only superseded by Determination._ It's blue too. I guess I may possess more than one trait.

Chapter 5: kindness _Kindness, the green SOUL. One of the weaker traits. These children have hearts of gold and are very friendly. This doesn't necessarily mean they are nice. It's one of the more common traits. This power is the second weakest._ Hmm. I possess this trait as well but I'm quite strong. So, maybe it's just part of me but it's not a major part.

Chapter 6: Justice _Justice, a power with a dual effect. This trait has a yellow SOUL and can be used for good or evil. It's considered a dual trait. Children with this trait are very proud and confident. They are similar to children with the trait of perseverance._ Yellow too. Do I have Determination too? It would only make sense since I have all the others.

Chapter 7: Determination _Now, the most powerful trait of all. Determination is both the most powerful but also the most dangerous. Children with this trait have red Souls. They are rare and vary between being kind hearted and brave, cunning and clever, or genocidal and smart. They are granted the power of the RESET's and save points. This allows them to save their progress and to RESET their timeline._ Huh? Is that what the save points are about? Is Determination my trait? No, there's something more. I possess all these traits. But then, why does something not feel right? Why do I not feel _human_? The glitch happens and I gasp.

"Child, I wanna try something." I see a big looking metal box. "What is that?" "This is called a computer." "A com puter?"I'm the only one in the Underground that has one." "I've never heard of it." "Humans must be really far behind in technology." I shrug. "I guess." "I'm going to open up a database." "A what?" She sighs. "A list of names." "Oh, ok, that makes sense." "Alright, what was your name again, child?" "Michael." "Do you have a last name?" "No, I don't think so." "Ok, let me try this." "How old are you?" "11, I think." "Ok, let's see." She clicks it and 100's of names come up. "Wow, I didn't know Michael was such a common name." "Let's see, brown hair." 50 names come up. "Let's try this one more time. What color are your eyes, child?" "Gold." "Ok, one last go at this." "Name, Michael. Brown hair, gold eyes. Trait unknown." Only one result comes up and Alphys gasps in shock. "Alphys, what's wrong?" "There's no way. Are you really?" "Alphys, what is it?" "Take a look, child." I look at the result on the metal box. I freeze. It reads. "Michael, created by W.D. Gaster. Below it is a journal entry. Curious, I read it. "Michael, my greatest creation. I created Michael for one purpose, to prevent harmony between humans and monsters. However something went wrong. I tried to create him using power from the Core. Unfortunately the Core nearly exploded and I was lost to this world forever. He is a being of great power. I called him "A culmination." The most powerful Glitched Soul. His power was given limitation so he wouldn't destroy everything. He was granted all of the traits of the normal human children and all the traits of his kind. One of these powers included shapeshift. It's unfortunate, I never really got to meet him. I wonder what happened to him."

I need a second to process this. 1. I am not a human being. I am a culmination, a glitched Soul created by a mysterious Dr. W.D. Gaster for the purpose of preventing harmony between humans and monsters. 2. Frisk is not actually my sister and I am supposed to kill anyone who tries to make humans and monsters be at peace with each other. 3. I possess all the traits of the regular normal children and all of the traits of my kind. My kind, the glitched SOULS?

I was trying to process what's going on but Alphys continues talking. "Also, that power within you, if used for good, can do incredible things." "You must stay determined and push on. I'm uncertain of what your core trait is. But without it, I'm not quite sure what you are." " **Hello."** "Huh? Who's that?" Alphys sighed "That's just Mettaton." "Mettaton?" "He's a robot I created long ago to help me with solving problems." "However, when I tried to fix him, some problems occurred." "Problems?" She nodded "Yeah, now he's a killing machine and he's probably going to try to kill you or at least annoy you." "Let's hope for the latter, okay?" I sigh.

I walk out of the room to see Dr. Alphys and a robot. The robot looks like it had been designed a long time ago. " **Hello, monsters and other monsters."** "What's going on?" " **Welcome to Answer Right or Die."** I gulp "Die?" " **And now, here's your host, Mettaton!" "Hello, everybody, welcome to Answer Right or Die.I'm your host Mettaton."** "I don't want to do this." " **Nonsense, let's introduce our contestant." "That means, you introduce yourself."** "Hello." " **Are you ready for your first question?"** I sigh "Go ahead." " **First Question, What is Toriel's favorite food?"** "I think it's Cinnamon Butterscotch or Snail Pie." " **Correct."** I breathe a sigh of relief. " **Question 2, What does Sans enjoy doing?"** "Telling skeleton jokes, eating at Grillby's and being lazy." " **Correct." " Third Question, what is Undyne?"** "She is a fish monster and Captain of the Royal Guard. " **Correct." Final question "Who does Doctor Alphys have a crush on?"** I freeze **.** "How am I supposed to know?" "" **Incorrect answer."** Uh oh. " **Now, it's time to kill you."** Not today. I dive under the robot and bolt.


	20. Surviving a Killer Robot

Chapter 19: Surviving a Killer Robot

I don't stop running until I think I am safely far away. I sigh, but then I suddenly hear a ringing sound. I look in my pocket and pull out the phone Toriel gave me. "Hello?" "Hello, child." "Dr. Alphys?" "I am here to assist you with anything you might need help with." "How did you get my number?" "I uh put it in your phone while you weren't looking." "I'm sorry if I did something wrong." "You haven't done anything wrong, it's ok." "I wanted to let you know that the next area you're about to enter is full of lasers." "What am I supposed to do then?" "Don't worry, child. It's nothing to worry about." "The orange lasers, you have to run through them and they won't harm you." "The blue lasers, you have to not be moving when the lasers reach you." "They won't affect you if you aren't moving." "Good to know, thank you Dr. Alphys." "Just call me Alphys, child." "Okay, thank you, Alphys." Click. The call ends and I continue onward.

Sure enough, the next area is full of lasers. I rack my brain to remember what Alphys just told me. She said I can run through the orange lasers and that I have to not move when the blue lasers pass through me. Ok then, here we go. The first lasers are orange and I pass through them. The next one is blue and I stop. Just as Alphys said, it passes through me harmlessly. After that, things get more challenging. There are now two lasers to pass through and then two to stay motionless for. I can see the other side and a door. But then, I freeze as three blue lasers appear in front of me. They pass through me and I continue forward.

I reach the door but it won't open. I try knocking, only to get no answer. I'm not sure what to do, but then my phone rings. It is Alphys again. "The door is locked, isn't it?" I nod "Yeah." "I forgot about that. There are two other pathways where you have to beat the challenges in order to unlock the door." "Head north first, the challenge is easier and it will help you with the other challenge." I nod and the call ends. I walk to the north but I couldn't see how I could reach the other side. There was no bridge or pathway I could safely cross. All I could see was a small platform. Curious, I step on it. It launches me over to another platform so I can get back to the other side. "Well, that's handy." I walk down the path until I finally reach another doorway. It has a symbol of a heart inside a circle on one side and a sword on the other. "Here must be the challenge" I walk inside. There was a small board next to what looked like a game. It reads, "Destroy the ship by moving the blocks in order to win." I look to see that there were a bunch of blocks blocking the path to the ship. I'm not sure what to do so I click to the right. All the blocks move in unison to the right side. "Did that just happen?" I need to be sure. I click to the left and all the blocks return to their original positions. I begin moving them around, trying to find the open path. After a few tries, the path opens . I click fire and the ship explodes. I smile, one down, one to go. I walk out the way I came and return to where I had been when Alphys had called me. I remember she said I have to go south next. I walk down the southern path and sure enough, there is the same platform that had been on the northern path. I walk on it and as expected, it launches me to the platform on the other side. Once again, there is a doorway with that symbol on it. It has to have some importance but I can't understand what at the moment. I walk through the doorway and the challenge is the same as the last one. It is just more difficult because there are more blocks and after a while, I am getting frustrated, I think about getting upset, but I know that I will get nowhere if I do that. I just sigh and hope for the best. It comes to me and I suddenly know the answer. I move the pieces and fire. Sure enough, the ship explodes and I beat the challenge. Yes! That means the door is now unlocked. I go back the way I came but when I get back to where the doorway was, something has changed. There were now lasers in the pathway. I sighed "Why didn't Alphys tell me this would happen?" I knew how to navigate them but still. I walk through the doorway and on to the next path.

I am walking down the path when I see. " **Well, well, well, look who it is. It's the disheveled child."** I groan. "Mettaton? Really?" " **Did you think I forgot about you?" "I might have to deal with another child but, I never forget"** "I don't have time for this Mettaton." "Can you please go away and leave me be? " **Foolish human."** "I have a name, Mettaton." " **I don't care, ready for my challenge?"** That stops me. "Your challenge?" " **It's a timed challenge and if you fail, I'm going to kill you."** I gulp "What's the challenge?" " **I have placed 6 little bombs and a big one in the area up ahead. Only a child of pure heart and soul can beat this challenge." "If you fail to succeed, the bombs will detonate, killing you instantly."** I turn on Mettaton "Are you serious?" "How long do I have?" " **3 minutes."** "3!?" I am now freaking out. " **On your marks, get set, go!"** I bolt to the next area as the timer starts. I get to the first bomb, and start thinking about how to defuse it. It doesn't have any wires or anything on it. All that is on it is a symbol. The symbol looks like an angry kid. Anger, what did that mean? " **2 Minutes and 30 Seconds."** It suddenly comes to me. What is the opposite of anger? Kindness. I smile and hug the bomb. The bomb defuses and stops ticking. I got it. I bolted to the next one. The next one shows what looks like someone complaining and there was the word unfair written on it. I realize, this must be injustice. I realize what to do. "Justice is best served anyway justice needs to be served." The bomb stops and I bolt over to the next one. " **2 Minutes."** 2 minutes and only 5 more to go. I bolt to the next one, I recognize it right away. It is impatience. I sit and stare at the bomb for a few seconds and it stops. 3 down, 4 to go. The next one shows a child cowering in fear. The opposite of fear is bravery so I step towards the bomb and grab hold. "I'm not afraid of dying." The bomb stops and I smile. 3 to go. I am getting into a rhythm. The next one shows a person giving up. That means this next one is perseverance. "I will never give up. I will make things right." The bomb stops ticking. 2 to go. " **1 minute."** Ok, I have one minute and two bombs. The next one shows someone who seems to have no respect, or kindness. That meant they must not possess integrity. I handle the bomb with care and sure enough, it stops ticking. Only 1 left. " **30 seconds."** I bolt, towards the last bomb." I freeze. It shows a person with a look on their face I recognize as determination. But, what is the opposite of determination? I am panicking as I know I don't have much time. " **10 seconds."** I decide to just hope for the best but to my surprise, the bomb stops ticking with 5 seconds to spare. Did that mean that hope counters determination? I decide not to worry about it. " **Impossible, how did you do it? No matter, we shall meet again."** He flies off and I sigh. Onward and upwards we go


	21. Dinner with Sans

Chapter 20: Dinner with Sans

I sigh as I continue walking down the path until the path diverges three ways. One goes north, one went south, and the other one continued east. Which direction did Alphys tell me to go? Oh, right, she didn't mentioned anything about that. I decide to head north. As I start heading up the path, the scenery changes again. It was no longer extremely hot and there wasn't lava and rock everywhere. It was actually quite calm and peaceful. I freeze. Did that mean I had gone the wrong way? I turned to my left to see the waterfall I had traveled through earlier. "Darn it." I was back at the waterfall. I was about to turn back when I suddenly heard a voice. Curious, I continued down the path to discover the origins of the voice. "Hello, who's there?" As I passed into the next area, I heard "Hey, Kiddo, good to see you again." I knew that voice. "Sans!" I smiled. "Hey, kid, what brings you here?" "I should ask you the same thing." He chuckled "I was actually looking for you." "I need to talk to you about something." Something about that made me uneasy and my confidence faded. "Follow me." He started walking in the opposite direction he had come. I followed, even though I had no clear clue what was going on. We soon arrived at what looked distinctly like- "A restaurant?" "How are there restaurants down here?" "Humans don't have all the good ideas. We monsters are plenty intelligent and innovative ourselves." "You see, Sans- I'm not exactly-" "Come on, kid, let's go inside." I sigh. We walk inside and I was quite surprised to see that it was quite busy. Sans walked up to the front "Table for 2 please." The monster nodded "Anything for you, Sans." We walked past the monsters toward the table. I could hear the monsters whispering. I caught the words "angel, hope, despair, and Destiny." What could that possibly mean?

I sighed as we sat down. I opened the menu and looked for something I might like but I couldn't find anything. I started imagining in my head having some of Toriel's butterscotch and cinnamon pie. I gasped as the item was added to the list. "Woah, that's so cool." "You figure out what you want, kid?" I nodded. "I want some cinnamon butterscotch pie. "Huh, I didn't know they serve that here." I sighed in content when the food arrived. Sans had ordered himself a burger which I thought was odd since he was a skeleton but I decided not to worry about it. I took a bite into the cinnamon butterscotch pie and immediately smiled. It was exactly the way Toriel had made it for me when I was back in the Ruins. I felt rejuvenated and all my cuts and scrapes faded. "You sure love that pie, kid." I nodded as I finished the pie. I smiled. "It's almost as if Toriel made it." "Hey, kiddo." I turned to face Sans. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Hmm, what could Sans want? "What did you want to talk about Sans?" "First, I wanted to talk to you about the girl." The girl? Oh, right. Frisk. I forgot that I asked him to ask if she knew me. "What did she say?" "She looked at me with a look of shock and surprise." She said "No, there's no way, he's still up in the surface realm." "How did he end up here?" "I shook my head and said "The kid knew you were here the minute I described you." "Who is he?" She responded "My brother." "Then I stopped pestering her and she walked off." "Seems she's familiar with you too, kid." "Sans, can you tell me where she is?" "I don't know where exactly she is but I do know she was heading towards the Core." "The Core?" "It's where the power for the entire Underground is generated. Magical energy is converted into a power source." "Then the power is spread throughout the Underground." "The only place that doesn't run on power from the Core are the Dark Ruins." The Dark Ruins? Why did something about that place seem familiar? I don't think I've ever heard of it or been there.

"The second thing I wanted to talk to you about is you seem familiar to me." "Well, I met you back in the Snowy Forest." "No, I mean even when I saw you then, kid, you seemed familiar. Almost as if we had met before." What is Sans talking about? I'm certain I met him for the first time in the Snowy Forest. "Hey, don't worry about it kid." "There's two more things I wanna talk to you about." "Ok, what are they?" "First off, I want to say how proud I am of you." "Proud?" What would Sans be proud of me for? "You've done really well on your journey. You've befriended everyone and haven't killed anything. But unlike the other one, you've shown that you can fight." "You're proving your worth." "Wow, thank you, Sans." "No worries, kid." "You've earned some praise." "Your journey is getting closer to completion and you haven't died." "You're doing even better than she is." "Anyways, I've got one last question." "Sure, Sans, what is it?" "It's your appearance." "You look a lot like the 1st one. You look a lot like her, nearly the same." "I'm not sure why that is but you've assured me that I don't need to worry about it." Huh? The first one? Could it be? Did he know her? Chara. He said I look a lot like her. But why did I assure him, that he didn't need to worry about it? What did Chara do? "Hey listen, be safe, kid. Cause somewhere out there, someone's rooting for you." "I'll keep an eye socket out for you." Sans gets up and starts to walk off. I wave goodbye and he smiles. I walk outside but he's gone. How did he leave so quickly? I guess I'll never know.


	22. Chara's Warning

Chapter 21: Chara's Warning

I start walking back to Hotland but then I stop. In the journal entry on me, The doctor mentioned something about the ability to change my physical appearance. I wonder. I try to test something. I imagine that I am Frisk. I imagine that I am older and that I am taller. When I open my eyes, I gasp. I was Frisk, I was wearing a blue and pink jumper and everything. My eyes were now blue as well. I close my eyes and I return to normal. This was crazy. How could I be sure that wasn't a fluke? I close my eyes and journey back to my Soul. I enter the room, knowing what I want to do. "Chara." "Michael, It's been a little while." "What do you want?" "I need you to help me with something." "I'm going to imagine something or someone and you tell me what you see." "Why should I do that?" "Please, help me out here." "Fine." I did what I had done last time. "Chara, tell me what do you see?" I hear a gasp and then silence. "Chara." I gasp. That wasn't my voice. Chara gasped in awe. "You're me. You're Chara. How is that possible?" I opened my eyes and sure enough, she was right. I was now adorned in a green shirt with a red stripe on it. My cheeks were brighter and I had two large dimples on the sides of my face. I gasp, close my eyes and I return back to normal. "Chara." "How on earth did you do that?" "I don't know." "Are human children supposed to be able to do that?" "No, I've never seen a human child do that ever." "That was definitely not normal." "You're not a human at all. You're some kind of monster." Chara pulls out a knife. "Woah, Chara, what are you doing?" "Stay away." "Chara, please, I don't know what's going on but please, let me talk to you."

"The truth is, I'm not a human." "I'm a creation." "A what?" "Someone created me." "Who created you and what for?" "A W.D. Gaster." "Gaster?" "Do you know who that is?" "You're his creation. You're one of his creations." She points the knife at me. "I won't go down without a fight." "Woah, what are you talking about? I'm not going to fight you. I just want to talk to you." I feel a twinge in my heart. I fall to my knees and start crying. "Let me explain." "Sigh. Fine." "I was created by this mysterious Dr. Gaster to prevent harmony between humans and monsters." "But for some reason, I fell asleep for 400 years and can't remember anything. I wondered why you seemed familiar, it's because I've seen you before." "You were the child I met in the surface realm before I fell asleep." "That was you?" "You tried to attack me." "I did?" "I don't recall that happening ever." "But I am not the same as I was then. I don't want to hurt anyone or prevent anything. I just want to find my sister." "If you're a creation, that means you and Frisk aren't actually siblings." "We are! She adopted me!" "She what?" Chara lowered the knife and her shocked eyes pierced through me. "She adopted you?" "Yeah, she did." I gasp. It's coming back to me. "I remember now."

"When I woke up, she was standing over me. My ankle was broken and I couldn't walk. She said "Oh my god, are you okay?" "Uh, where am I?" "You're on Mount Ebott." "Mount Ebott?" "Am I in the surface realm?" "Well, you're on the surface, yes." "I'm Frisk." "Michael." "Michael, do you have any family?" "I can't remember." "Well you're in no condition to walk." "Come on, I'll take you to my home." "Your home?" "Yeah, I live in Ebott Village." "Ebott Village?" "Shh, don't worry I'll help you up." "She lifted me up to my feet and held her shoulder around me." I gasped. She felt so warm and comforting." "For the first time, I didn't feel alone. She made me feel human. She walked with me back to her home." "She accepted me and took care of me even though her family and the village weren't accepting of me. I felt like a human being. I felt like I belonged. But, it wasn't meant to be. I lost her and now I'm trying to find her." "I feel the same way you do." "I was just like you." "All I wanted was a friend, to be accepted, to feel wanted." "When I ended up down here, I made a friend. I was adopted by a kind family who raised me as their own." They made me feel wanted. They made me feel accepted and my adoptive brother became my best friend." "For the first time I felt something,, I felt happy." I smiled. "But it was taken away from me." I frowned as I could see Chara's change of demeanor. "I sacrificed myself to save everyone and my best friend betrayed me and then blamed me for my mistake." "I was broken, I wanted them to suffer. I wanted to make them pay." "I sense that same aura coming from you." "You're trying to keep the pieces together." "You're trying to maintain control." "It's not worth it." "It's just a path of broken roads and bad times." "All it takes is one final blow and you'll break." "You're just like me." "We're the same." "We share a common point of view and I'm glad we can relate." "But, your journey isn't over yet. You must continue forward to the finish." "We must find Frisk." "Right." "Just remember one thing. Is it really worth it if you end up losing everything?" "Huh?" "Good luck, Michael." "I'll always be here if you want to talk." "Wait, Chara!"


	23. The River Person

Chapter 22: The River Person

I open my eyes. I'm back to normal and I am in Waterfall. I need to process everything. I can change my physical appearance which I guess must be a trait that all glitched souls possess. I showed Chara my power and she freaked out. She thought I was a monster. I told her what I really was and she responded with hostility. She wants me to stay away from her. She pointed a knife at me and said she wouldn't go down without a fight. I didn't understand what she was talking about. What was she talking about? I didn't want to fight her. That strange feeling returns again. What is it? What am I feeling towards her? There was a twinge in my heart when she said that. She made me cry. She said that I had attacked her. I remember seeing her now. I met her 400 years ago. She was the same then as she is now. I told her my backstory and she told me hers. There's one thing she said that I still can't understand. She said "Is it really worth it, if in the end, you end up losing everything?" If I lose everything? What do I have left? I never had a family, no friends. All I really have in this world is the girl who adopted me that I had come to know as my sister, my dagger, the clothes on my back, and my SOUL. What have I gained in my time down here? Knowledge? An understanding of this world? Bits and pieces of my past? I sigh. If I lose everything… There's not much left. If I lose Frisk… The images flash again and the static happens. That must be what glitched souls can do. Now that I've discovered what I really am, some things are making more sense while there are other things I still don't get.

I need to head back to Hotland. But I don't remember how I got here. All I remember was that I followed Sans and then we were here. I can go east, or south. North is back to the restaurant while West is back the way I've journeyed so far. I could head East but I was curious about the Southern path. The last time I went South, I discovered some really cool things. I think back to the knife. Could that possibly be Charas? Who knows? If it is, maybe I can return it to her and she'll be happy. Worse case scenario, it's not hers. "South we go." I walk down the Southern Path until I reach the river. Hmm, what am I supposed to do now? I'm just about to walk away when I suddenly hear "Tra la la." Huh? I turn back to the river. "Tra la la." There it is again. I look down the riverbank to see a figure in a cloak moving down the river on some sort of moving vessel. The figure reaches me and stops. "Hello, child. I am the river man or am I the river woman? Nobody really knows. Would you like to take a ride on my boat? Hmm. I've never been on a boat. What is a boat? I wish I knew. "I guess." "Where would you like to go?"Where would I like to go? "Where are you going?" "I can take you anywhere you wish." Anywhere I wish? I wonder. "Can you take me to Hotland?" "I can take you there." "Hop on." "Thank you," I step onto the boat. "Off to Hotland we go." The boat turns around and we head off to the east.

"Is there anything you wish to know, child?" Anything I wish to know? A million thoughts rush into my head. Who is Dr. Gaster? What are Glitched Souls? Who is Chara Dreemurr and what did she do? What is the prophecy? Who is the Angel? In the end, I end up asking something else. "Who is Asgore?" "Asgore is the ruler of the Underground and king of monsterkind." "He's been through a lot." "He lost his children long ago to the humans." "He lost his children?" I feel a weird emotion. What is it called? Sympathy? Empathy? Pity? I'm not sure but I almost feel bad for him. "Afterwards he declared war on humanity." "War?" "Any human who comes down here will be captured and their Souls taken." "Captured?" "Souls taken?" That doesn't sound good. "He already has 6. He only needs one more." Sans said something about that back in the snowy forest. "Well here we are." We had reached Hotland. I step off the boat and back onto land. "Thank you, river person." "If you ever want a ride, just wait a few seconds and I'll come around." He sailed down the river and I sigh. "Well, let's continue the journey." I turn to the north and reenter Hotland.


	24. The Royal Guards

Chapter 23: Facing the Royal Guards

I continue heading north but I am stopped by those royal guards again. "There's a human walking around wearing a pink and blue jumper and another wearing a red shirt with a green stripe." Uh oh. Are they going to connect the pieces? "We need to get you someplace safe, follow us." I breathe a sigh of relief. They still haven't connected the pieces. I follow the guards down the northern path towards the elevators when suddenly. "Huh, what is it, number 2?" " Yeah, I see the clothes they are wearing, why?" "A red shirt with a green stripe?" Uh oh. Did number 2 put it together? "That's what the kid's wearing!" Yep. He put it together. The guards turn around and pull out their swords. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to kill you now or capture you." "One of the two." "Let's get him number 2!" I pull out my dagger defensively. "I don't know what's going on but please, believe me." "I am innocent." " **Foolish child, you should never have dared to face our captain." "Now, you die."** The guard charges at me with his spear, I dive to the left and he runs past me. " **Foolish brother, you need to actually think before you attack."** He throws his spear toward me and I narrowly dive out of the way. The spear grazes me and I start bleeding. I can feel the dark power fighting me for control but I refuse and try to dodge the attacks. " **This human is quite fast and quite powerful." "Asgore will enjoy your soul." "He'll use it so we can finally escape the Underground."** "I don't want to hurt anyone please, you're making this difficult." "Die."

After a while, I decide being merciful isn't working. What can I use? All I have is my dagger, a knife and gloves. Can my dagger do me any good against their armor? I decide to test the theory. I charge the first guard and dive under him slashing upward as I slide under him. He staggers backwards and I can see he is bleeding. I found a weak spot in the armor! I do the same thing with the second guard but he throws his spear down to block me. I dive out of the way and feint attacking downward again. When he dives down to block, I jump, soaring into the air and swinging my leg as I spin through the air. My foot connects with the guards helmet and knocks him on his back. With one guard down and the other wounded, I consider my options. I can kill them but that wouldn't be right. But they tried to kill me. That might be true but that doesn't mean I can just kill them. All I have to do is run eastward and I will be able to get away. The problem was that I haven't discovered the northern path and I want to see if there is something there. I happen to notice that the guards are getting exhausted. I got it. "Take off your armor." "It's too hot to wear it in Hotland." " **Why should we trust you, Human?"** "Please, I don't want to hurt you." "We're all in danger and if you kill me, bad things are going to happen." "Please let me past." They ignore me as they are busy taking off their armor so they can cool down.

I walk away from them and down the northern path. The elevators are up ahead. As I reach them, the doors open. Yes! They're working now. I walk inside and I see a few options. There's Right Floor 1, Left Floor 1, Left Floor 2, Right Floor 2, and Left Floor 3. Huh? Where's Right Floor 3? Hmm. I click Right Floor 1. Nothing happens. "That must be where I am now." That means I probably shouldn't click left floor 1 because it's just the opposite side of where I am now. That probably won't do me any good. I think about Left Floor 3. Why wasn't there a Right floor 3? What could it mean? Well I might as well try all of them. I go to Left Floor 1. The elevator doors close and there's a humming noise. Then the door opens. I look around. This is where I solved the puzzles earlier and saw the other door. Ok how about Right 2? I head up to Right 2. I open the door and the path is blocked by some sort of force field or something. "Well, that's no good." I walk back into the elevator. Well, since Right 2 was blocked, that means Left 2 is blocked as well. That means there is only one option left. "On to Left Floor 3, we go." The elevators doors close and there's a humming noise as the elevator ascends.


	25. The Spider's Lair

Chapter 24: The Spider's Lair

The elevator doors open and I step out. There's a sign outside the door. All it says is Muffet. Muffet? Who is Muffet? What is Muffet? There's another sign next to it. It says "Beware of Cupcake." Huh? Beware of Cupcake? Who's Cupcake? What is Cupcake? Where am I? When I think of cupcake, I think of sweet treats I ate with Frisk back in the surface realm. There's a different feel to this room too. I sense impending danger but I don't know where it's coming from. The room is completely purple as is the carpet on the floor. I walk down the hallway and see a small booth. Behind the booth is a spider? "Ahuhuhuhu, hello dearie." "Hello." I'm not sure what to say. She looks like a spider but she's pretty large for a spider. I decide to go with the first thing that comes to mind. "Are you Muffet?" "Ahuhuhuhu, no dearie, she is in the caverns up ahead." "Would you like to buy from the spider bake sale? All proceeds go to real spiders." "Sure, how much are the spider donuts?" "9999G" 9999 G? I look in my pockets. I only have 2000 G. "I only have 2000G" "Ahuhuhuhu, you don't have enough? Maybe next time, dearie." "Okay, I'm going to go see Muffet then." "Farewell, dearie." The spider waves goodbye to me and I continue into the cavern.

I walk into the cavern. It's dark and I can't see much. I walk forward slowly but then I start to hear voices. "Ahuhuhuhu. Did you hear what they just said?" Huh? Who said that? I sit quietly for a second listening carefully. I don't hear anything and so I take another step forward. " **They said a human wearing a red shirt with a green stripe would come through."** There it is again. Where is that voice coming from? I take another step forward. " **I heard that they hate spiders."** Hate spiders? I take another step forward. " **I heard that they love to stomp on them."** Stomp on them? Why would anyone want to stomp on them? I take another step forward. " **I heard that they like to tear their legs off."** Tear their legs off? Who would do such a thing? There are spider webs under my feet and I can only move forward slowly. " _ **I heard…**_ The cavern is suddenly illuminated and I can see that there are spiders all over the cavern. **... that they're awfully stingy with their money."** I turn and I see a spider with a red bow on the top of her head and wearing a red skirt and top. That must be Muffet. That must be the voice I was hearing. Muffet chuckles. " **Ahuhuhuhu... You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary?"** What is she talking about? I look in my pocket. I still have the spider donut and spider cider. " **Ahuhuhu... I disagree with that notion. I think your taste…"** She shoots webs at me, trapping my legs. I can't move. " **Is exactly what this next batch needs!"**

Well, here we go again. First Papyrus, then Undyne, then the Royal Guards and now Muffet. Let me try talking to her. "Muffet, I don't want to fight you." She responds by throwing tea at me? The tea hits me but nothing happens. Wait a second. Huh? I feel different. What did she do? **Don't look so blue, my deary."** My Soul appears and it's now- " **I think purple is a better look on you! Ahuhuhu"** I pull out my dagger and slice the webs trapping my feet. I can move now, but I don't want to run away. Her spiders are blocking the exit anyway. Also, if I run, it will probably not look good to the spiders. " **Why so pale? You should be proud."** "Proud? Proud of what?" She chuckles. " **Proud that you're going to make a delicious cake~ Ahuhuhu"** Spiders come towards me. I leap over them, avoiding their fangs. Even with those fangs, they're kinda cute. Try being nice. "I don't want to fight you Muffet, please let me go." " **Let you go? Don't be silly"** Spiders leap into the air and I duck and they soar over my head. " **Your SOUL is going to make every spider very happy"** My SOUL? What could the spiders want with my SOUL? I hear a roaring noise. "What was that?" " _ **Oh, how rude of me! I almost forgot to introduce you to my pet~**_ Her pet? Another roar. Uh oh. _**It's breakfast time, isn't it? Have fun, you two."**_

The roars get closer sounding. I brace myself, dagger in hand. Finally a gigantic spider with a cupcake head appears. Wait, a gigantic spider with a cupcake head? Well, now I know what Cupcake is. It's a freaking gigantic spider and apparently Muffet's pet. He leaps into the air and I duck, avoiding his attack. He charges at me and I jump, leaping over the spider. He comes at me again and I tuck and roll, rolling underneath Cupcake. Cupcake backs away into the shadows. Hopefully, I won't have to deal with them again. **The person who warned us about you…** Huh? Person? Who warned them? **Offered us a LOT of money for your SOUL.** Who could have offered a lot of money to the spiders? Here they come again. Jump, duck, left, right, jump, duck, tuck and roll. " **They had such a sweet smile~ and Ahuhuhu It's strange, but I swore I saw them in the shadows... Changing shape...?** A sweet smile? Changing shape? Who could I think of that had a sweet smile and could change shape? Nothing comes to mind. And again. Jump, duck, tuck, left, right, duck, tuck, jump, left, right. " _ **Oh, it's lunch time, isn't it? And I forgot to feed my pet~"**_ Oh no, here comes Cupcake again. It's the same as before and soon enough, it backs away into the shadows. Okay, as long as I keep doing what I'm doing, Cupcake won't be a problem.

" _ **With that money, the spider clans can finally be reunited~"**_ "Reunited?" " **You haven't heard? Spiders have been trapped in the RUINS for generations!" "** They have?" That means the spiders I met in the Ruins, they were seperated from the others. I feel really bad for them now. " **Even if they go under the door, the fatal cold of Snowdin is impassable alone."** "That's right. Spiders can't survive the cold." " **But with the money from your SOUL, we'll be able to rent them a heated limo~"** "A What?" " **And with all of the leftovers...? We could have a nice vacation or even build a spider baseball field."** "Ok, well I have no idea what any of that stuff is." **But enough of that... It's time for dinner, isn't it? Ahuhuhu."** As I jump to avoid an attack, the spider donut and spider cider fall out of my pockets. Muffet takes a look at them and then turns. Uh oh. " **Huh? Where did you get that...? Did you steal it?"** "I didn't steal it, I swear." " **Oh, my pet~ It's time to show them what we do with thieves"**

Just as Cupcake is about to attack, a spider runs towards Muffet holding something. **~ "Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins?"** "A what?" " **A message."** "Oh." Wait. From the Ruins? The Spiders must have remembered me. " **They said you are a spider fanatic." "You gave them gold and candy, you talked to them, you made them really happy." "Ahuhuhu, I'm so sorry, dearie. The person who warned us. They must have been lying." "I'll spare you now and you can leave."** The Spiders clear out, revealing the exit to the cavern. " **Ahuhuhu, that was fun, dearie." "You can come back and visit anytime you want."** "Thank you." I hear a roar. Muffet chuckles. " **Cupcake is saying he's sorry."** I stepped forward and walked up to Cupcake. I gave the gigantic spider a hug. The spider gasps then purrs. "Bye, Cupcake. I'll come back and visit sometime." Cupcake roars but this is a happy roar. I smile as I turn and give Muffet a hug. " **You are so sweet, dearie, ahuhuhu, good luck on the rest of your journey, come back and visit."** I smile. "I will and I'll play with Cupcake too. Another happy roar from Cupcake. I smile and walk out of the cavern.


	26. MTT Resort

I am walking down the hallway when suddenly I hear a ringing noise. I open my phone "Hello." "Hello, child." "Dr. Alphys?" "Yes, it's me child." "I see you survived the spiders lair." "Yeah, I actually like spiders. I'm not sure how Frisk dealt with them. "Why do you say that?" "She has arachnophobia." "Oh." "Anyways, child, your journey is nearly over." "It is?" "I'm almost to the capital?" This both makes me happy and concerns me. I still haven't found her and the images continue to flash through my head. "Well, normally, you would still have a long way to go." The normal journey to the capital takes another day or two." "A day or two?" Is she serious? "But worry not, child." "There's an elevator in the Core that will take you straight to Asgore's castle." "An elevator straight to the castle?" That means I can catch up to Frisk! I can find her! I can- I can-" I freeze. What's going to happen to Frisk? Can I prevent it? "If you go through the Core, there is a way." "How?" "There's just one thing." "What is it?" "You have to take the shortest route to the Core and it's through MTT Resort." "MTT Resort?" "Mettaton Resort." Are you serious? The robot that wants to kill me has his own resort? What is the deal with him anyway? "I have to deal with that guy again?" "Worry not, child, you beat him before, you can do it again." "I haven't fought him." "You haven't? Oh, I'm thinking of the other one." "But don't worry, you can handle him and I'll help you." "Ok, thanks Alphys." I must keep going. I must push onward. I can't give up. I can't lose hope. I reach the gates of the MTT Resort. I see a sign next to the resort. "Hey, check out the shop behind the alley." "We've got really cool things." Huh? A shop behind the alley? Really? What could possibly be back there? I'm not going to go though. I'm wasting time and I need to catch up to Frisk. I'm about to walk in when suddenly I hear a familiar voice. "Hey Kid." "Fancy seeing you around here." I turn and smile. "Sans!" "Can I talk to you for a minute, kid?" "Sure, Sans." "I don't have a lot of time though." "Cool, follow me." He escorts me to the left of the resort, saying there's another shortcut. He leads me inside what appears to be another restaurant. We sit down and Sans starts talking. "Your journey is nearing completion but a few more challenges wait ahead." "You've done really well and I'm proud of you."

"I want to tell you a story." "So I'm a sentry out in the Snowy Forest. It's kinda boring to be honest. Nobody really comes through often." So I decide to journey further into the forest and I reach a big door." "It's at the edge of the forest and perfect for using for knock knock jokes." "One day, I knock on the door, doing my usual jokes and suddenly I hear a women's voice. She asks "Who's there?" So I tell the joke and she starts laughing." I don't even know this woman but if she can laugh at my jokes, then she's gotta be something." "One day, I noticed she wasn't laughing like usual and I asked her what was wrong."This woman made me promise to protect any human that left the Ruins." "Do you know what would have happened if she hadn't said that?" For a minute, his eyes go black. "You would be dead where you stand." "Hey I'm just messing with you." "I have done a great job protecting you." You have? I don't think so. "You haven't even died once." Well I guess that's true but that's because I've avoided death. "Hey listen, take care of yourself, kid, because someone out there really cares about you." Sans smiles, turns and walks away.

Well, that was a nice story. The person he was talking about. Was he talking about Toriel? It would make sense. She is the only one I've ever met in the Ruins. She made him make a promise. To protect any human who comes through here. Did he really mean what he said? Would I really be dead if it weren't for that promise? Sans seemed like he was in a hurry too. Oh, right, he's been guiding Frisk too. Damn it! I should have asked him where she was. I can't be far behind. I leave the restaurant and walk into the MTT Resort. In the middle of the lobby is a large statue of Mettaton in a fountain. Man, I hate the smug look on his face. He's nothing but a robotic junk can. Alphys said I might have to fight him. Let's hope not, I don't know how I'll be able to face him. I don't know if my dagger will be any use against the robot. I suddenly see something catch my eye. It's called Burgerpants Emporium. Huh? Burgerpants Emporium? There's another sign as I move closer. "We sell quality MTT products and merchandise." MTT. Doesn't that stand for Mettaton? Ugh. He's got merchandise too? Why is he so popular? Is he like a hero to them or something? I wish I could understand.

I walk into the Burgerpants Emporium. Sitting at the desk is a monster that looks like a mouse, rat and squirrel were mixed together. His name tag reads "Burgerpants." Huh. So this place must be his. He's got something in his mouth and it's giving off smoke? What could that possibly be? I ring the bell. "Hey there. Welcome to Burgerpants Emporium, founded by Mettaton long ago. I'm Burgerpants, the owner, manager, and only worker." "You're the only worker?" "Yeah, so what do you want? We've got starfaits, glamburgers, legendary hero sandwiches, and a steak in the shape of Mettaton's face." "I actually just have a question." "Well, shoot kid, all right, you're lucky I'm on break." "What's the deal with Mettaton anyway?" "Who is he?" "Mettaton is like a celebrity down here. He's the face of the Underground." "If Asgore is King, then Mettaton is like the jester." "Everybody loves him and he's the one who gave me all of this." A celebrity? What was it people loved so much about Mettaton? For the first time in my journey, I'm feeling a different emotion. I feel angry, angry at the flower who tried to kill me, at Mettaton for trying to kill me and at all the humans. They treated me like the scum of the earth. I suppress my anger though. I'm so close, I can't falter now. "Is that all you needed, kid?" "Yeah, that's all, thank you." I walk out of the emporium and back into the lobby.


	27. The CORE

Chapter 26: The CORE

All right, which way do I go now? My phone rings. I take a close look at it. Did Alphys upgrade it? It doesn't look anything like the phone Toriel gave me. I answer. "Hello?" "Hello, child, you must continue onward. Go north. There's a sign that says CORE. It's the shortcut that will lead you to the castle." "All right, Alphys, I'm trusting you." "Come on, child, let's do this!" Click. I walk through the door that says CORE. It's cooler here than it was in Hotland but not by much. I'm about to start walking when suddenly I hear voices. I look down the hall and I see shadowy figures. I can't see their faces but they're at the end of the hallway. I can vaguely discern the words. "Orders, Doctor, and Mettaton." Huh? Orders? Doctors? Mettaton? What could that possibly mean? My phone rings. It's Alphys again. "Alphys?" "Huh? What were those things? What are they doing here?" "Wait a minute Alphys." "How did you know I was in the CORE and how did you know about the figures?" "Oh, when I upgraded your phone, I set up a tracker device." "It allows me to know where you are." "You're tracking me?" First the cameras, now tracking me through the phone Toriel gave me? What is Alphys up to? She's hiding something. She knew about the lasers and about the puzzles and traps. That could be a coincidence but I have a theory that she's behind it.

I continue down the pathway which diverges now into three paths. I can go East, West or back the way I came. Well I can't go back the way I came. That could cost me a day or two in extra time I didn't have. I also have no idea how to get to the capital any other way. My phone rings again. It's Alphys. "Alphys?" "Child, head down the eastern path. My map says it's the right way." "Ok, if you say so." I walk down the eastern path and the path turns north. I walk down the pathway and I see fire? There's no way through. It's just a fire pit. I put my hand over the pit. It's warm. I can see the flames in the distance. "Huh? That can't be right. Alright, go north, that should be the way." I walk back the way I came and then head north. The northern path is a dead end. There's no other direction I can go. "Huh? A dead end? Something with my map must be wrong." "Ok, just go west, that's the only way left." "Fine." Click. Well that was a waste of time. 3 paths and one was a fire pit while the other one was a dead end. Alphys had guessed wrong every single time. I'm not taking her advice anymore. I'm done trusting her as well. I will make my own decisions.

I continue down the western pathway until another path is revealed. I can continue north, or head east. I hear my phone ring and I ignore it. I'm going East first. I head down the eastern path only to encounter lasers. I finally answer the phone. "Alphys, why didn't you mention the lasers in the middle of the path?" "I can take out the power to the room so you can get across." "Ready, go!" The lights go out and I bolt across the path with blinding speed and reach the end just in time as suddenly… "Look out!" The lights in the room suddenly turn on, reactivating all the lasers. "The power." "I can only turn it on and off temporarily." "Gee, thanks for mentioning that." I push the switch and turn around. "Ready." The lights turn off and I bolt and when I open my eyes, I'm on the other side. "How did you go so fast?" "No matter, go north." I head up the Northern path until I hear two voices again. You have followed the doctor's orders,yes madjick.? And mettaton's as well? "Yes, knight knight." Huh? Knight Knight, Madjick? Who are they and what are they talking about? They turn to me. "You weren't supposed to hear that." Uh oh. One starts shooting triangles of light at me while the other is slamming a staff into the ground and sounds like they're saying good night. How do I beat them? I start humming to myself and Knight Knight starts to get sleepy. That's it. I sing a lullaby and Knight Knight falls asleep. Now how do I beat Madjick? I stare at the orb in madjick's hands and it stops working. That's it! I stare at the other orb and it stops working. With one asleep and the other unable to attack, I am free to continue forward.

I continue down the path when suddenly I see a glowing elevator. It says "Path to Asgore's castle." This is it! The path through the CORE! Alphys wasn't lying. I'm close, I can feel it. I just need to go through the elevator and I'm good to go.


	28. Attack of the Killer Robot

Chapter 27: Attack of the Killer Robot

I walk down the hallway and am humming peacefully when suddenly I see something that stops me in my tracks. "Mettaton?" Mettaton is sitting in the middle of the hallway. " _OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING. IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN."_ You know what? I'm actually up for a showdown. Time to put this annoying robot in his place. " _IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE "MALFUNCTIONING" ROBOT. ... NOT!_ Mettaton starts chuckling. What's he playing at? _MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT._ "A show? An act? What are you talking about?" " _Allow me to explain, darling."_

 _ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME._ "Alphys?" " _AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE". "SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY."_ "What do you mean?" _SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES and the Lasers. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU. ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST._ "She did all that, why?" " _ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON... THAT SHE'S NOT."_ Wow. That really changes my opinion of Alphys. She's been slowing me down, I could already be to the castle by now and I wouldn't have had to deal with all that stuff in Hotland.

" _AND NOW, IT'S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM."_ I pull out my dagger. "She is?" I'm angry now. At Mettaton, at Alphys at the humans. " _DURING OUR "BATTLE," SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO "DEACTIVATE" ME, "SAVING" YOU ONE FINAL TIME."_ "Are you serious?" " _FINALLY. SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU'LL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE. ... OR NOT."_ "Hmm, there's nowhere for me to really go." "So if you would let me pass, we can save each other a lot of trouble." " _YOU SEE, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN."_ "To entertain?" "Like a troubadour?" " _Like a what?"_ "Never mind, continue." " _AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW... WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?"_ The door behind me locks as do all the other doors. I tense and hold my dagger close as I hear Alphys voice. "H-hey! Wh-wh-what's going on!? Th-th-the door just locked itself!" The floor shoots upward. " _SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD! REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW… "ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!"_

Well, here we go again. Now I've gotta fight Mettaton. How is this going to work? My phone rings. "Alphys, what do you want?" "Push the Act button on your phone." "Why should I?" "Just do it!" Sigh. I push it and my Soul appears. It's upside down and it's yellow? I shoot at Mettaton. It does nothing. "Well, thanks, Alphys." "That did nothing." "What, but how?" " _THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING._ _DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTING IS!?_ " "You're an actor too, huh?" "I guess you're not just a worthless tin can." " _How dare you!"_ He shoots mini robots at me. I wonder. I've used my dagger for regular slashing attacks and for blocking but what about for magical purposes? I wonder. I create an X with my knife, and it reveals a blue arc which heads straight toward the mini robots blowing them up. Nice. I can use magic too! " _YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT RE-ARRANGED THE CORE!"_ "That was you?" " _I WAS THE ONE THAT HIRED EVERYONE TO KILL YOU!"_ "You're the one who told Muffet the lies about me and Frisk!" _THAT, HOWEVER, WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF!"_ He throws bombs at me. I run quickly, narrowly avoiding the bombs. I slash my dagger at Mettaton. It clangs off his metal body. Well I guess, regular attacks are no good. " _LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT. YOU'RE WEAK."_ "Weak?" " _IF YOU CONTINUE, ASGORE WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL. AND WITH YOUR SOUL, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY."_ "So that's why Asgore wants the Souls." " _BUT IF I GET YOUR SOUL, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN! I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION!"_ "You want to save humanity?" " _THEN USING YOUR SOUL, I'LL CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER... AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS... NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME! GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!"_

This isn't working. I can't penetrate his metal body and I can't dodge his attacks forever. I don't know if he can kill me but I don't want to find out. My phone rings. I already have an idea of who it is. "What do you want, Alphys?" " _U..uh... I can't see what's going on in there, but... D-d-don't give up, okay!?" "Th... there's o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton…"_ "There is?" "You better not be lying to me, Alphys." " _It's... um... it's... This is a work-in-progress, so don't judge it too hard…"_ "Get to the point, Alphys." _But, you know how Mettaton always faces f-f-forward?"_ "Yeah,why?" " _That's because there's a switch on his backside."_ "There is?" " _S-s-so if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around... um... And, umm... press th-th-th-the switch... He'll be... um... He'll be... Vulnerable. Well, g-g-gotta go!"_

Vulnerable? What did Alphys mean? Ok, all I have to do is press his switch. I need to distract him somehow. Hmm. I got it! If Mettaton is a celebrity, he cares about his appearance. That's how I'll get him to turn around and I can press the switch. "Hey, Mettaton?" "What is it Darling?" You can't kill me yet." "Why not?" "You need to look your best." "You need to turn around and look in a mirror and make sure you look your best." " _OH? A MIRROR? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE!_ He turns around. Now's my chance. I reach for Mettaton's switch. " _I DON'T SEE IT... WHERE IS IT...?"_ I reach forward and flip the switch. Mettaton freezes. " _DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?"_ There's a flash of light and then darkness.


	29. An Epic Dance Battle

Chapter 28: An Epic Dance Battle

Suddenly bright lights come on. I hear Mettaton's voice but something's different. It sounds deeper. " _ **Ohhhh my. If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude... Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So... as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments…**_ The lights reveal Mettaton, but in a whole different form. " _ **ABSOLUTELY beautiful!"**_

Whoa! Well, this is interesting. Alphys as always didn't mention this at all. I look at him. In the center of his chest, it says EX. Is this Mettaton EX? I guess so. "Nice transformation, Mettaton, why didn't you show me this before?" " _ **Lights! Camera! Action!"**_ Mettaton's legs came off and soar towards me. What do I do? I jump soaring over the first leg and then slide under the other, avoiding the attack. " _ **Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!"**_ Here come the mini robots again. Shoot at them with my Soul. I completely forgot I could do that. I fire at the mini robots as they all start blowing up. " _ **I'm the idol everyone craves!" Smile for the camera!"**_ I put on a smile and for the first time I notice it. There's a ratings bar to the left of Mettaton. Of course. Mettaton is treating this battle like a performance or a show. If I want to defeat him, I have to perform. Well, if Mettaton wants a show, let's give him a show. " _ **Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz! I hope you brought a keyboard... This one's an essay question!"**_ "Ok, ask away." " _ **What do you love most about Mettaton?"**_ "What can I really say?" I can't stand the guy. He's an absolute pain in my butt. He's tried to kill me twice now. So I'll just leave it at that. " _ **Beautiful. Sometimes the fewest words speak the loudest."**_ "Thanks." "Can I leave now?" " _ **I don't think so, darling."**_ I hear a mechanical whirring noise. "What is that?" I look at the center of Mettaton and I see a heart? Wait, that could only mean. " _ **Yes, child, I have a SOUL."**_

How is this possible? I thought Mettaton was just a robot. A rusty metal tin can with no real purpose created by Alphys for solving problems. No, Mettaton really is something. He has a Soul and a mind of his own. " _ **Your essay really showed everyone your heart. Why don't I show you mine?"**_ Mettaton's heart appears in front of me. It starts glowing. Uh oh. I leap to the left as it starts shooting at me. Beams of light and flames come towards me. I leap to the right as it changes course. " _ **Oooh, I'm just warming up!"**_ He shoots more mini robots at me as I dodge them. I blast the other ones using my dagger. " _ **You are good on your feet."**_ The floor underneath us becomes a dance floor." _ **But how are you on the dance floor?"**_ A ball appears above Mettaton's head. It starts glowing. Uh Oh. It starts firing lasers. I jump into the air, completing 2 flips and a somersault and sticking a perfect landing. The ratings skyrocket. " _ **Oh my, those moves! You are quite something."**_ The ratings rise up to 5000. His heart shoots more and more lasers. I move quickly, trying to avoid the lasers at all cost. " _ **Can you keep up the pace!? Lights! Camera! Bombs!"**_ Bombs rain down from the sky. I gotta be careful. Left, right, center, right, left, center, left, center, right. " _ **Things are blowing up! Time for our union-regulated break!"**_ A sign appears that says breaktime. Well I better take advantage of this break. I grab a small piece of pie and take a bite. My fatigue fades and my mind clears. Mm. I love that pie so much! It's so tasty.

" _ **We've grown so distant, darling... How about another heart-to-heart?"**_ Mettaton's hearts appears again, shooting its lasers and beams of light. Here we go again. Up, down, left right, center, down, left, up, right, center, left, down. I continue to try and boost the ratings. I do flips, somersaults, spins, and all kinds of other tricks and the ratings continue to climb. I'm not doing any damage to him though. I need to do something. He shoots his lasers at me. I got it! Let me try deflecting the lasers. I send the lasers back at Mettaton and an explosion occurs. His arms blast off his body and he looks shocked. _**A.. arms? Wh... who needs arms with legs like these? I'm still going to win! Come on...! The show... must go on!"**_ His attacks speed up as I can tell he's getting annoyed. " _ **Dr... Drama! A... Action! L... lights... C... camera… Enough of this! Do you really want humanity to perish!?"**_ More flames and lasers, faster than ever. _**... or do you just believe in yourself that much? Haha, how inspiring! Well, darling! It's either me or you! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star!...**_ His heart turns into a star and shoots beams of light. I swing my dagger and deflect one back at Mettaton and his legs explode. _**then… Are YOU the star? Can you really protect humanity!?"**_ "Protect them? Why should I?" The ratings are at 9000. One more move should do it. I leap into the air, one flip two flips, three flips, four flips, a somersault and stick the landing. The ratings skyrocket over 12,000 and Mettaton looks excited.

" _ **OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS! THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD! WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE! ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME... ... BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER!" "LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!**_ I hear a ringing noise. " _ **HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW? ..."**_ I hear a familiar voice on the phone. _**oh... hi... mettaton... I really liked watching your show... my life is pretty boring, but... seeing you on the screen... brought excitement to my life... vicariously I can't tell, but... I guess this is the last episode...? I'll miss you... mettaton... ... oh... I didn't mean to talk so long... oh...**_ I recognize their voice. Could it be? _**NO, WAIT! WAIT, BL... H... THEY ALREADY HUNG UP.**_ It was Napstablook! I recognize that voice anywhere. _**I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!**_ I hear other voices. Some are familiar and some are not. Mettaton's expression continues to change. " _ **Mettaton, your show made us so happy! Mettaton, I don't know what I'll watch without you. Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart."**_ Mettaton gave a sad smile. _**AH... I... I SEE... ... EVERYONE... THANK YOU SO MUCH. ... DARLING. PERHAPS... IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS, BUT MONSTERS... THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT... THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT COULD NEVER BE FILLED. SO... I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT. BESIDES. YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. PERHAPS... EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST ASGORE. I'M SURE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HUMANITY. HA, HA... IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS... INEFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND... WELL. I'LL BE ALRIGHT. KNOCK 'EM DEAD, DARLING. AND EVERYONE… THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!**_


	30. New Home

Chapter 29: New Home

Mettaton powers down and I am left sitting there. That was one of the craziest fights I have ever had. I hear the sound of a door unlocking and I hear a familiar voice. _**I... I managed to open the lock! Are you two…**_ It's Dr. Alphys! How am I going to explain this? " _ **Oh my god. Mettaton! Mettaton, are you… H... hey... D... don't worry about it... I can always... I can always build a different robot! Wait a second"... "thank GOD, it's just the batteries. Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have... I would have... …" "I m-mean, h-hey, it's no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I c-could always... J-just fix him up. Why don't you go on ahead?"**_ I stand up and I start walking down the path. The elevator must not be far. I walk down the path and I see the elevator. This is it! Here we go. I am about to step into the elevator when suddenly, I hear Dr. Alphys' voice. "We did it. Your journey… It's almost over. You've done so well and you haven't really needed my help." "I just wanted to apologize." Huh? Apologize? She actually feels bad for what she did? "I lied to you." "Your SOUL is not powerful enough to cross the barrier alone." "You need a monster SOUL as well." "Wait, you don't mean?" "Yes, you'll have to kill Asgore." "But, Toriel told me I can't." "Everyone deserves a chance, no matter what." "I sure hope you're right, child." Alphys turns, waves and walks away. I walk into the elevator. The doors close and the elevator hums as I head to Asgore's castle...I sit quietly as the elevator hums along. I sure hope Alphys was telling the truth. This elevator should hopefully take me to Asgore's castle. If Alphys was lying about this as well. I don't understand. Why did she lie to me? Was Mettaton telling the truth? Did she really do all that just to be a part of my adventure? The lasers, the puzzles with the gates and doors. Did she really enlist Mettaton to torture me? That would really cause me to change my perspective on Mettaton. Well, the journey is almost over. Through those doors to whatever comes next. I think about what Alphys said. Could I really do it? Could I really kill Asgore? I have never killed anyone before. Chara says I tried to kill her but that can't be. I remember her being nice to me long ago, before she disappeared. Plus, Toriel told me not to. I didn't want to disobey Toriel's wishes. She was so kind and sweet. But why was she defending Asgore? Was there something going on in regards to that? I think about Frisk. What's going to happen when I see her? Will I be happy? Sad? Angry? Confused? As the elevator doors open and I walk out, I don't really know what to feel. But she's so close now, I can feel it.

I walk into a familiar looking place. It looks like Toriel's home. But everything here is different. This is all black and white. Is it a flashback? "Howdy, Michael!" I recognize that voice immediately. I turn and look down to see- "Flowey? What are you doing here?" "You seem upset, child." "I don't really know. I really wish I could understand my feelings." "I warned you at the beginning." "I told you it was a "Kill or be Killed world." "The only question that remains is will you kill or will you be killed?" Kill or be killed? That can't be. I've worked so hard. There is no way after all that, that I can just turn my backs on them. "Do you love the other child?" "Huh, the other child?" "The child with the blue and pink jumper." "What is your relation with the other one?" "She's my" I stopped. What was I supposed to say? Best friend? Caretaker? Sister? "She's my sister." "You don't sound so sure." "Is that the truth?" "Or is she just another human who you've come to know by chance?" "No, She's my sister!" But the more I say it, the more I doubt it. She adopted me, we weren't even the same. I wasn't even human. I felt myself glitch again. "If you say so, child." "You're gonna have to fight him, you know." "If you don't, he'll kill everyone and he'll destroy everything." "Flowey, you're helping me? But Why?" "Helping you? I'm warning you." "He's going to kill you." "If that's how it has to be, then that's how it will be."

"Do you want to hear a story, Michael? You may already know what I'm talking about but I'm going to tell it." "I'm up for a story." I sit down and Flowey starts talking. "A long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS. Injured by its fall, the human called out for help. ASRIEL, the king's son, heard the human's call. He brought the human back to the castle." "Over time, ASRIEL and the human became like siblings. The King and Queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope." "Then... One day… The human became very ill. The sick human had only one request." "To see the flowers from their village. But there was nothing I uh I mean we could do."  
"The next day, she died, the human I mean. ASRIEL, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's SOUL. He transformed into a being with incredible power." "With the human SOUL, ASRIEL crossed through the barrier. He carried the human's body into the sunset. Back to the village of the humans." "ASRIEL reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of golden flowers. He carried the human onto it. Suddenly, screams rang out." "The villagers saw ASRIEL holding the human's body. They thought that he had killed the child. The humans attacked him with everything they had. He was struck with blow after blow. ASRIEL had the power to destroy them all." "But… ASRIEL did not fight back. Clutching the human… ASRIEL smiled, and walked away." Wounded, ASRIEL stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed." "His dust spread across the garden. The kingdom fell into despair. The king and queen had lost two children in one night." "The humans had once again taken everything from us. The king decided it was time to end our suffering." "Every human who falls down here must die. With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever. It's not long now." "I recognize this story." "What do you mean, child?" "That's Chara's backstory." "Uh, right, yeah that was her name." Flowey was acting weird. Was he hiding something? Did he know more than he was letting on?

Flowey asked me one more question. "Do you remember your past?" I shook my head. "I don't remember much."  
"I know all about you, Michael." "Younger brother of Frisk, the 9th child to fall to the Underground." "But I know how you got here." "Your parents loved Frisk and the only reason you were kept around was because she loved you." I gasped "That can't be true." "But you know I'm telling the truth." He was right. I could try and not believe him, but he was right. The memories played through my head. "She's so beautiful. She's a perfect child." "What about this other one?" "He's not even ours." "Let's get rid of him." When they attempted to abandon me, Frisk ran back to me crying. They sighed and kept me along until the day Frisk disappeared. That day they said "He must have gotten rid of Frisk. Let's leave him here." "He's not even ours anyway." They left and I woke. "Mom, Dad? Frisk!?" I ran around the mountain searching for them. A month later, I jumped down the hole into the underground, trying to end my suffering. The memory ends. I am breaking, my heart struggles to hold itself together, my anger rising. I walk off in a huff, not wanting Flowey to see I was angry.


	31. Death of my Sister

Chapter 30: Death of My Sister

I walk down the pathway until I finally reach the end of the hallway. To my right is a building. There's a sign that reads Judgement Hall. Judgement Hall? What could this be? I walk through the door and see a save point. I save my progress and continue forward. I am about halfway down the hallway when suddenly I hear a familiar voice. "So you finally made it. the end of your journey is at hand." "Sans? Is that you?" "In a few moments, you will meet the king. together... you will determine the future of this world." "Sans. What's going on?" "That's then. now. you will be judged. you will be judged for your every action." "Judged?" "You will be judged for every exp you've earned." EXP? "What's exp? it's an acronym. it stands for "execution points." "Execution Points?" "A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. when you kill someone, your exp increases. when you have enough exp, your lv increases." "So that's what Flowey was talking about," LV, too, is an acronym. it stands for "level of violence." "Level of Violence?" "A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. the more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. the more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." "Is that really true?" "But you. you never gained any lv. 'course, that doesn't mean you're completely innocent or naive." "Just that you kept a certain tenderness in your heart. No matter the struggles or hardships you faced... You strived to do the right thing. you refused to hurt anyone. even when you ran away, you did it with a smile." "You never gained LV, but you gained love. does that make sense? "No?" "Maybe not. "So what now?" "Now. you're about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. your actions here... will determine the fate of the entire world." The fate of the entire world? "If you refuse to fight... Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity." Take my SOUL? Destroy Humanity? "But if you kill Asgore and go home... monsters will remain trapped underground. what will you do?" I don't know what to do to be honest. I have no love for humans but I wouldn't say I'm a world class monster lover either. "Well, if I were you, I would have thrown in the towel by now. but you didn't get this far by giving up, did you?" "That's right. you have something called "determination." So long as you hold on... so long as you do what's in your heart… I believe you can do the right thing. alright. we're all counting on you, kid. good luck."

I suddenly hear a scream. "Sans, what was that?" "Huh, I didn't hear anything." "Somebody, please help me!" I recognize that voice. "Frisk!" I run down the hallway. "Help me somebody! Please!" "I'm coming, Frisk!" I hear the maniacal cackling that sounds all too familiar. "You can't save her. Nobody can." "Can it Flowey!" I keep running down the hallway until suddenly I am in a room with two thrones. One is covered and the other one is sitting proudly in the middle of the hallway. That must be the throne for the King. Then the covered one is for somebody else. "Somebody, help me!" "Frisk!" I run through the throne room and into a bright room. At the end of the room- "That's it. The Barrier. The thing keeping the monsters trapped down here. I look ahead and what I see turns my bones to dust. It's Frisk and she's badly wounded. "Frisk!" I race forward. I grab her and bring her close. "Frisk! It's me! It's your brother!" "I thought you were dead!" "Brother." "Michael, it's you." "Frisk! Please don't leave me." "I'm wounded, Michael. The King wants my SOUL. I couldn't get him to show MERCY." I can tell she's fading. "Frisk, no! Please!" She smiles one last time. "I'll always be with you Michael." Then she collapses and her eyes don't open again.

I fall to my knees. No. No! This can't be! Not after everything I've been through. Not after this long journey. How could this happen? She's gone. She's dead. There's nothing I can do. There is a glowing light as I open my eyes and I see a glowing heart. It's red and it's glowing brightly. "Frisk's SOUL." The SOUL soars away. My heart shatters. He hasn't noticed me yet. I wasn't quick enough. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't good enough. No. I tried being nice, I showed compassion. I tried to be everyone's friends. I listened to the awful skeleton jokes, the pointless snail facts, the battle advice, the pointless quiz show, the bomb challenges, everything. Alphys. That doctor! She slowed me down. It's her fault too! My anger rises and I can feel my SOUL bright light in the room is suddenly gone as I'm glowing in an aura of darkness and blue light. My SOUL is dark and the black tinges are visible as I glitch. I rise to my feet. Asgore suddenly notices I'm there. "Oh, howdy! You weren't supposed to see that." "You must be the other child I've been told about." "I heard you possess unparalleled compassion and have a heart of gold." "Do you wish to return home, child?" The anger I am holding in. The rage I feel. I snap. "You killed her." I pull out my dagger and Asgore takes a step backwards. "Now, now. Don't jump to conclusions. There's no need to fight. Why not settle this... Over a nice cup of tea?" "You killed my sister!" I unsheath the dagger and my eyes glow gold. "What is this? What kind of human are you?" "I am Michael." You took all I had left. "Chara was right." "She was your daughter wasn't she?" "Huh, Chara?" "How did you-" "And Asriel, He was your son!" "They loved you! You adopted Chara! You were a family!" But suddenly my rage faded. Chara. I remember her now. I didn't try to kill her. I met her long ago. The memories flash through my mind. Memories that had been hidden. Her waking me up. The person who found me, she took care of me, protected me, and I lived with her. Then she disappeared and I ran away. I tried to find her but I hit my head hard and I fainted. All this time. It was coming back to me and I calmed down. "Her death. You blame yourself, didn't you?" "You blame yourself for Chara's death?" "And Asriel's too?" "I understand now." You may have killed Frisk, and taken all I have in this world, but I feel bad for you." My compassion returns to my SOUL. "I know what it's like to lose everything. It hurts. But that doesn't mean I should take what you have left." I see Asgore is crying? "Asgore? Are you okay?"

"Human, I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope." "The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war." "I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike… ...and free us from this terrible prison." "Then, I would destroy humanity… And let monsters rule the surface, in peace." "Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again." "Truthfully... I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope"… "I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child." "Please... Young one… This war has gone on long enough. You have the power… Take my soul, and leave this cursed place." "Huh?" "Take your SOUL?" "Leave this place." At the beginning, I would have done it in a heartbeat and even before he killed my sister. But, I can't bring myself to do it. "I- I can't." "Your life, every life in this world is worth living and worth saving."

Asgore looks at me in surprise but then smiles. "Young one, when I look at you... I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago... You have the same feeling of hope she had in your eyes. There is an ancient prophecy among our people... One day, a savior will come from the heavens. ...I believe the one that was prophesied was you. Somewhere in the world outside... There must be a way to free us from our prison. It pains me to give you this responsibility. ,After everything I have done to hurt you... You would rather stay down here and suffer... Than live happily on the surface? "Of course, there is nothing for me up there, anyway." "Human... I promise you... For as long as you remain here... My wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories... Eating butterscotch pie... We could be like... Like a family…" "Toriel?" "She's your wife, right?" "Yeah, Tori." "She's my wife." "She saw the good in you and now I can see it too." "I would be happy and honored to be in your family." Asgore smiled then sighed. "I'm sorry... I couldn't give you a simple, happy ending... But I believe your freedom... ...is what my son... ...what ASRIEL would have wanted."


	32. My Greatest Nightmare

Chapter 30: Death of My Sister

I walk down the pathway until I finally reach the end of the hallway. To my right is a building. There's a sign that reads Judgement Hall. Judgement Hall? What could this be? I walk through the door and see a save point. I save my progress and continue forward. I am about halfway down the hallway when suddenly I hear a familiar voice. "So you finally made it. the end of your journey is at hand." "Sans? Is that you?" "In a few moments, you will meet the king. together... you will determine the future of this world." "Sans. What's going on?" "That's then. now. you will be judged. you will be judged for your every action." "Judged?" "You will be judged for every exp you've earned." EXP? "What's exp? it's an acronym. it stands for "execution points." "Execution Points?" "A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. when you kill someone, your exp increases. when you have enough exp, your lv increases." "So that's what Flowey was talking about," LV, too, is an acronym. it stands for "level of violence." "Level of Violence?" "A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. the more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. the more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." "Is that really true?" "But you. you never gained any lv. 'course, that doesn't mean you're completely innocent or naive." "Just that you kept a certain tenderness in your heart. No matter the struggles or hardships you faced... You strived to do the right thing. you refused to hurt anyone. even when you ran away, you did it with a smile." "You never gained LV, but you gained love. does that make sense? "No?" "Maybe not. "So what now?" "Now. you're about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. your actions here... will determine the fate of the entire world." The fate of the entire world? "If you refuse to fight... Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity." Take my SOUL? Destroy Humanity? "But if you kill Asgore and go home... monsters will remain trapped underground. what will you do?" I don't know what to do to be honest. I have no love for humans but I wouldn't say I'm a world class monster lover either. "Well, if I were you, I would have thrown in the towel by now. but you didn't get this far by giving up, did you?" "That's right. you have something called "determination." So long as you hold on... so long as you do what's in your heart… I believe you can do the right thing. alright. we're all counting on you, kid. good luck."

I suddenly hear a scream. "Sans, what was that?" "Huh, I didn't hear anything." "Somebody, please help me!" I recognize that voice. "Frisk!" I run down the hallway. "Help me somebody! Please!" "I'm coming, Frisk!" I hear the maniacal cackling that sounds all too familiar. "You can't save her. Nobody can." "Can it Flowey!" I keep running down the hallway until suddenly I am in a room with two thrones. One is covered and the other one is sitting proudly in the middle of the hallway. That must be the throne for the King. Then the covered one is for somebody else. "Somebody, help me!" "Frisk!" I run through the throne room and into a bright room. At the end of the room- "That's it. The Barrier. The thing keeping the monsters trapped down here. I look ahead and what I see turns my bones to dust. It's Frisk and she's badly wounded. "Frisk!" I race forward. I grab her and bring her close. "Frisk! It's me! It's your brother!" "I thought you were dead!" "Brother." "Michael, it's you." "Frisk! Please don't leave me." "I'm wounded, Michael. The King wants my SOUL. I couldn't get him to show MERCY." I can tell she's fading. "Frisk, no! Please!" She smiles one last time. "I'll always be with you Michael." Then she collapses and her eyes don't open again.

I fall to my knees. No. No! This can't be! Not after everything I've been through. Not after this long journey. How could this happen? She's gone. She's dead. There's nothing I can do. There is a glowing light as I open my eyes and I see a glowing heart. It's red and it's glowing brightly. "Frisk's SOUL." The SOUL soars away. My heart shatters. He hasn't noticed me yet. I wasn't quick enough. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't good enough. No. I tried being nice, I showed compassion. I tried to be everyone's friends. I listened to the awful skeleton jokes, the pointless snail facts, the battle advice, the pointless quiz show, the bomb challenges, everything. Alphys. That doctor! She slowed me down. It's her fault too! My anger rises and I can feel my SOUL bright light in the room is suddenly gone as I'm glowing in an aura of darkness and blue light. My SOUL is dark and the black tinges are visible as I glitch. I rise to my feet. Asgore suddenly notices I'm there. "Oh, howdy! You weren't supposed to see that." "You must be the other child I've been told about." "I heard you possess unparalleled compassion and have a heart of gold." "Do you wish to return home, child?" The anger I am holding in. The rage I feel. I snap. "You killed her." I pull out my dagger and Asgore takes a step backwards. "Now, now. Don't jump to conclusions. There's no need to fight. Why not settle this... Over a nice cup of tea?" "You killed my sister!" I unsheath the dagger and my eyes glow gold. "What is this? What kind of human are you?" "I am Michael." You took all I had left. "Chara was right." "She was your daughter wasn't she?" "Huh, Chara?" "How did you-" "And Asriel, He was your son!" "They loved you! You adopted Chara! You were a family!" But suddenly my rage faded. Chara. I remember her now. I didn't try to kill her. I met her long ago. The memories flash through my mind. Memories that had been hidden. Her waking me up. The person who found me, she took care of me, protected me, and I lived with her. Then she disappeared and I ran away. I tried to find her but I hit my head hard and I fainted. All this time. It was coming back to me and I calmed down. "Her death. You blame yourself, didn't you?" "You blame yourself for Chara's death?" "And Asriel's too?" "I understand now." You may have killed Frisk, and taken all I have in this world, but I feel bad for you." My compassion returns to my SOUL. "I know what it's like to lose everything. It hurts. But that doesn't mean I should take what you have left." I see Asgore is crying? "Asgore? Are you okay?"

"Human, I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope." "The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war." "I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike… ...and free us from this terrible prison." "Then, I would destroy humanity… And let monsters rule the surface, in peace." "Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again." "Truthfully... I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope"… "I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child." "Please... Young one… This war has gone on long enough. You have the power… Take my soul, and leave this cursed place." "Huh?" "Take your SOUL?" "Leave this place." At the beginning, I would have done it in a heartbeat and even before he killed my sister. But, I can't bring myself to do it. "I- I can't." "Your life, every life in this world is worth living and worth saving."

Asgore looks at me in surprise but then smiles. "Young one, when I look at you... I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago... You have the same feeling of hope she had in your eyes. There is an ancient prophecy among our people... One day, a savior will come from the heavens. ...I believe the one that was prophesied was you. Somewhere in the world outside... There must be a way to free us from our prison. It pains me to give you this responsibility. ,After everything I have done to hurt you... You would rather stay down here and suffer... Than live happily on the surface? "Of course, there is nothing for me up there, anyway." "Human... I promise you... For as long as you remain here... My wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories... Eating butterscotch pie... We could be like... Like a family…" "Toriel?" "She's your wife, right?" "Yeah, Tori." "She's my wife." "She saw the good in you and now I can see it too." "I would be happy and honored to be in your family." Asgore smiled then sighed. "I'm sorry... I couldn't give you a simple, happy ending... But I believe your freedom... ...is what my son... ...what ASRIEL would have wanted."


	33. The Fallen Children

Chapter 32: The Fallen Children

I suddenly see a thing on Flowey's screen. It says "Warning." and it shows one of the SOULS. The color is light blue. Light blue. That's Patience. Suddenly Flowey disappears and all I see are knives. Lots of them. They all seem to be heading towards a target. Wait a minute. That's me, I run around and slash with my dagger to avoid the knives. I suddenly see something different. It's a button. It says ACT. This must be the same button I used on my adventure. I click it. "You called for help." For a second, nothing happens. Then the knives suddenly change into bandages. As I touch each one, my wounds from earlier in the fight heal and my mind clears. The screen goes static and Flowey is back again. What now? He shoots the plant monster at me again and I deflect it away. Next come the bombs and then finally the beam. Man, Flowey really wants to kill me. What am I going to do? The screen changes again. It says the same as earlier but the SOUL is now Orange. Orange. That's Bravery. Flowey disappears again and now all I see are hands? Surrounding the hands are rings? The rings descend downward and I have to be agile and flexible to dodge them. Just wait for the ACT button. There it is. I run over to it and click it. "You called for help." The hands become green thumbs up, which heal me further as Flowey continues to deal damage even though he's not getting full hits on me.

The screen goes to static and Flowey appears again. " _ **Are you REALLY that desperate...? | Hee hee hee.."**_ _._ I've beaten 2 of the SOULS, only 4 more to go. He said he only had six. That means he doesn't have Frisk's SOUL. He surrounds me in a circle while his "friendliness pellets" surround me. I wait for them to go away and then move quickly, barely avoiding another plant monster. I hear something that sounds like pew pew. What are those? They look like lasers but they are a lot smaller. They are coming out a device on Flowey's hand. I can't see what it is. Here it comes again. Same as before, but this time the SOUL is dark blue. Flowey disappears and all I see are stars and ballet shoes. I can't go above the stars so I just need to go underneath the ballet shoes. There it is! The ACT button. I run towards it, avoiding the ballet shoes and click it. "You called for help." The shoes go to the top of the screen and I see green notes. Each time I touch one, they heal me. The screen goes to static and it's Flowey again. 3 down, 3 to go. And then what? I have no idea. I have a feeling though that Flowey can't control the SOULS forever. What's he going to do this time? First vines, slash to avoid, plant monsters, slash to wound, bombs, run away, and finally beam. Alright here we go again, the SOUL is Purple. This must be Perseverance. The screen goes to static again. Here we go. To my left and right are two large books? Words come out of them. I notice all the words are negative. Fear, Revenge, Sadness, Betrayal, Despair. Then comes the ACT button. I click it. "You called for help." The words change into positive words. Courage, Kind, Friend. One word in particular catches my eye. Hope. Why that particular word? Something about that word… I don't understand but I don't have time to worry now.

The screen goes to static and Flowey appears again. " _ **Boy, fighting you is actually quite fun." You're still holding on even though you have no chance of winning." "Besides, you said it yourself, what is there for you to go back to?" "The one who you call your sister is dead." "You have no family, your worthless friends down here can't save you, and you have no place in this world."**_ Flowey is right. I know he's trying to mess with my mind and catch me off guard, but I can't deny it. I have no place in this world. I wasn't born into this world. I was made, created for a single purpose. No, I've put that behind me. It doesn't matter what my purpose was, but I am doing what I know is right now. Here he comes again. Flamethrower, Plant Monster, Vines, Pellets, Bombs, Beam. Here we go. This SOUL is green. This must be Kindness. Flowey disappears and there are frying pans over my head? They drop flames that head towards me. One singes my hair and I hurry to find the ACT button. Where is it? There. I click it. "You called for help." The flames turn into green eggs which heal me. The singed areas of my hair and body are healed.

The screen goes to static and Flowey appears again. " _ **How are you still alive? I mean, torturing you is fun and all but how, are you still alive?" "No matter, you can't defeat me." "Hee hee hee."**_ "Why don't you actually try and kill me?" "Your attacks are nothing." " _ **What? How dare you!" "Fine, let me show you some of the better weapons in my arsenal." "This should finish the job."**_ He shoots the beam at me while simultaneously attempting to trap me with the pellets. He uses the flamethrowers and the plant monsters. He throws everything at me. Finally, I see it. The warning sign in the screen. The last SOUL. The yellow SOUL. It's Justice. Flowey disappears and all I see is something that reminds me of the toy gun I saw back in Hotland. Huh? It starts firing at me and I can suddenly see that there's a target that's trying to lock on me. I need to avoid the bullets. There's so many though. Please. ACT Button. Please. It fires again. There it is! I click it. "You called for help." The bullets change into four leaf clovers. A symbol of good luck. I absorb the clovers, healing me and then the screen goes to static.

It's dark for a minute. Is Flowey gonna show up again? I faced all six SOULS. What do I do now? The screen comes on and shows the SOULS. The SOULS brighten, blinding me and I close my eyes until the bright light fades. I hear voices."Huh, Who's there?" I open my eyes and I see 6 ghostlike figures that look like children. "Who are you?" "I am Sally, child of Integrity." "I am Diana, child of Patience." "I am Sammy, child of Perseverance." "I am William, child of Bravery." "I am Jack, child of Kindness." "I am Clover, child of justice." "We are the Fallen Children." "Woah. No way." "You are the one we knew would come." "You are the angel." "In order to defeat this monster, you must look deep inside yourself and find your CORE Trait." "I see your future.""You will face many trials and tribulations. You will even fall from the light once. You will redeem yourself but at a cost." "You are the hero this world needs." "You will save not only the lives of the humans and the monsters of this world. You will save us as well." "But you can't do it alone." "You can't achieve your happy ending until the Child of Trust descends to this world." "Huh? What do you mean?" I have just been bombarded with a ton of crazy information and this one girl, the child of Integrity is trying to tell me my future? "I don't know what my CORE trait is." " "You must spare Flowey. I know it sounds crazy but don't lose HOPE." HOPE. The word rings through my head. HOPE. The strange feeling I was feeling. That wasn't just DETERMINATION. That's it! "I know what my CORE trait is." "And what is it?" "My CORE Trait, it's HOPE." "Well done, you are one of us." "Now, go finish off that crazy flower. " "I will, thank you, Sally." "Good luck, Michael." "Persevere, Michael." "You can do it!" "Justice for all." "Be brave, Michael." "We will wait for you." The children start glowing, my wounds heal and my mind clears. The last thing I hear is "Farewell Michael."


	34. Grand Finale

Chapter 33: Grand Finale

I open my eyes and I'm back in the room with Flowey. " **Had enough, child?" "Are you ready to die?"** "I don't think so." I see a sign. It says "Flowey's DF dropped to 0!" "It's my turn to go on the offensive." I swing my Dagger into the air creating an X. It turns blue and shoots an arc straight at Flowey. 300 Damage. He's got a high HP bar and my earlier attacks barely scratched him. Now, things are changing. He shoots the plant monsters. I duck underneath and slice the arm off. 500 damage. Flowey screams in pain. So far all I'm doing is making him angry. Here come the bombs. I swing my dagger and deflect one right into Flowey's face. 1000 damage. The health bar is going down. I can do this! Here comes the beam. Can I deflect it with my dagger? Time to find out. I plant my feet, holding back the beam, trying to push it back towards Flowey. My dagger starts glowing blue. It shoots a beam right at Flowey. 2000 Damage. Flowey screams out in pain and the beam fades.

His health bar is at half. I can beat him! He's not invincible! " _ **You can't beat me." I am the prince of this world." "I will be a GOD!" "You can't stop me."**_ "I'm sick of you Flowey. Take this!" I create the blue arc again but swing it up and down and left and right so it repeatedly hits Flowey. 5000 damage. His health bar is almost done. He shoots the plant monsters and the beam at the same time. I slash at the plant monster and hold my dagger to block the beam. " _ **You are quite the fighter, but you are no match for me." "Just who do you think you are?"**_ "I am Michael, the Angel!" My dagger clashes against the beam. "The SAVEior of this world!" "I am going to defeat you and save everyone." The beam starts to head back at Flowey. "For the Underground!" The beam pushes towards Flowey. "For the Monsters!" The beam continues to move towards Flowey. "For Humanity!" The beam is almost about to hit Flowey. "For my best friend!" So close. "And finally, Flowey, this is for Frisk!" My dagger glows blue and shoots a beam blasting my beam and Flowey's beam directly at him. I am blinded by the light and I can't see.

I open my eyes. Flowey is screaming. I did it! I defeated him! " _ **NoNo... NO! This CAN'T be happening! You... YOU..." "**_ Wait what is that?" File 0 loaded. What the hell? His HP Bar is restored! He's cackling. " _ **You IDIOT."**_ The Beam! I leap to the side, but I'm trapped in limbo. Every time I avoid, he keeps reloading the file until he finally hits me. My HP drops to 1/20. Uh oh. He surrounds me in a ring of friendliness pellets. There's nowhere to go. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Flowey is laughing triumphantly. " _ **Hee hee hee. Did you REALLY think… You could defeat ME!? I am the GOD of this world. And YOU?" You're HOPELESS. Hopeless and alone... Golly, that's right! Your WORTHLESS friends… ... can't save you now. Call for help. I dare you. Cry into the darkness! "Mommy! Daddy!" "Somebody help!" See what good it does you!"**_ I click ACT(You called for help...) _**But nobody came.**_ The pellets begin to move towards me, closing in. " _ **Boy! What a shame! Nobody else... Is gonna get to see you DIE!"**_ The pellets close in. What do I do? What can I do? This is it. This is the end. I close my eyes. I'll never see Frisk again or Chara or Toriel or anyone.

Wait a minute. I open my eyes. No. It's not the end. I can't lose Hope. I can't give up. As long as there is HOPE anything is possible. I grab the piece of butterscotch pie and eat it. My HP bar maxes out and the pellets suddenly disappear. " _ **What? | How'd you...? | Well, I'll just"**_ File Load 2 Failed. " _ **Wh... Where are my powers!?"**_ The SOULS appear in front of me along with the children. "You did it Michael." "Justice!" "You freed us." "We will finish this with your help." "Let's take him down." "You did it!" Flowey looks at me in shock. " _ **The souls...? What are they doing?"**_ "Now!" The children start glowing and shoot beams into my dagger, creating the rainbow beam. I point my dagger straight at Flowey. "Fire!" The beam hits Flowey directly and he screams. " _ **NO! NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME! STOP! STOP IT! STOOOOPPPP!"**_ Flowey explodes in another bright beam of light which stuns me and I fall backwards and hit my head and am out cold. I open my eyes. I'm back in the Barrier Room. The children are gone as are the SOULS. All I can see at first is darkness and the light from the Barrier, but now I can see a withered flower. "Flowey." I walk over to him. "You beat me. You foiled my evil plan. You truly are better." "So kill me, please." "Kill me and end my suffering." Kill Flowey? If this had happened at the beginning of my journey, I would've done it in a heartbeat. He was the one who murdered Frisk. He took everything from me. But after my conversation with the SOULS and my talks with Toriel and Frisk, I can't do it. It's not even about what the SOULS said. I sheath my dagger. "What are you doing? Do you really think I've learned anything from this?" "That's not the point. My eyes which had been glowing with golden flames return to normal. "Sparing me won't change anything. Killing me is the only way to end this." "That's not true." My dagger returns to normal as the blue glow fades. "If you let me live… I'll come back. I'll kill you. "Already tried that." I'll kill everyone. I'll kill everyone you love." "You already did that." "But I learned something, Flowey." My kind smile returns and I move closer to Flowey. "Every life, no matter what they've done or what they've said is worth saving. Everyone deserves to live." "Even you." I give Flowey a hug. Rather than bite me or attack, he is silent. He starts speaking "Why? ... why are you being… so nice to me? I can't understand. I can't understand! I just can't understand." He descends into the ground. Flowey ran away. I sigh and suddenly realize how tired I am. I lay down, close my eyes and fall asleep…


	35. Regaining my Memories

Chapter 34: Regaining my Memories

I open my eyes. I'm alive and Flowey is gone. What a journey this has been. The Barrier is still here so I can't go back to the human realm. What do I do now? I guess I'll head back the way I came. I walk into the Throne Room. Something is different though. There are three thrones. One for the King, a slightly smaller one for the Queen and a smaller one that's covered in a tarp and dust. Is that for the Prince? Wait a minute. Flowey said he was the prince of this world's future. Prince Asriel. The story. The future had been taken away from us. Could it be? Is Flowey Asriel? If so, how is that possible? How exactly does a goat prince become a Flower? I have no idea how that works. Well, I have nothing better to do, so let's keep going back. I travel through the throne room and back into the flashback. I think I'll go inside this time. I look around, everything seems the same as Toriel's home. There's the chair and the fireplace. The kitchens the same as are the floors and hallways.

Everything seems normal. I decide to investigate further. I am walking down a hallway and I see a mirror. I look in the mirror. Wow, Flowey did a real number on me. "Despite everything, it's still you." Well, I guess that's true. I walk into the bedroom. I didn't enter here when I came through earlier. In the middle of the room are presents. They are neatly wrapped with a red bow. Curious, I open the first one. Inside is a knife. What is a knife doing in here? Wait a minute. This knife seems familiar. I gasp. The memories come back to me. This knife is Chara's. This is her prized possession. How did it get here? I look at the other present. I open it up and inside is a locket. The locket is gold and etched on the front are the words "Best Friends Forever." Inside is a picture. It's a goat boy and a young girl. I recognize the young girl. Red eyes, green shirt with red stripe. It's Chara. The boy… Green shirt with white stripe. This must be Asriel. Wait a second. There's another picture. The picture of Asriel and Chara falls out and reveals the original picture. A boy smiling, gold eyes, brown hair, dagger by his side. That's me. And the girl... Which means that Chara and I… were best friends? It's all coming back to me. Discovering the Echo Flowers on Mount Ebott. Her finding me on Mount Ebott. Taking care of and protecting me. Meeting her family and dealing with the same suffering she endured. Trying to run away. Trying to end our suffering. We did everything together. No wonder I felt like I had met her before. But why doesn't she remember me? Her memory. I have to SAVE her and restore her memory.

I put the friendship locket on around my neck and I put the knife in the sheath in my other pocket. The knife needs it more than the dagger does. I leave the flashback house and head back to the elevator. The elevator doors open. "CORE please." The doors close and the elevator hums as it takes me back to the CORE. The doors open and I step out. I walk back through the CORE. Most of the monsters are gone but a few are still in the CORE. I see a Knight Knight turn his staff into a tree. "Cool." The Knight Knight gives me a nod. The madjick is turning all his triangles into different shapes. "Neat." The Madjick chuckles and laughs. I walk through the CORE and back into MTT Resort. It's the same as before. The fountain is still going and everyone is here as if nothing happened. I decide to pay a quick visit to Burgerpants. "Hey, Burgerpants, how's it going?" "Hey, I'm actually kinda surprised. Guess you must have survived Mettaton after all." "Mettaton is going around on tour, showing everyone his new form." "He's going around in his Mettaton EX form?" "Yeah, he's going around dancing,signing autographs and paying special visits to monsters throughout the Underground." "Well, he's not trying to kill me anymore, so I'm happy." "He decided he's going to stay down here even if the Barrier is broken."  
The Barrier. "It's not broken." "Huh?" "What do you mean?" "I thought the king got the 7 human SOULS." I teared up. "The King is dead." "No, that can't be." "King Asgore, dead?" "No, that's impossible." "Burgerpants." "Leave me alone, please." "I need some time." "Alright then." I say goodbye to Burgerpants. On we go. I leave MTT Resort and head back to the cavern.

I reenter the cavern of the spiders. "Muffet, I'm back." " **Ahuhuhu, welcome back, child."** I turn and smile. "Hello, Muffet. How are you doing?" " **Dearie, thanks to you, the spiders are reunited."** Sure enough, the spiders are happy and laughing. I smile. " **And I nearly tried to kill you." "Ahuhuhu, so foolish of me."** "All is forgiven, Muffet." I hear a roar. "Hey Cupcake, good to see you again." Cupcake gives a happy roar and I run forward and give him a hug. "A promise is a promise." " **What promise?"** "I promised I was going to come back." "I would say hello to you and play with Cupcake." " **You did? When did you do that child?"** "Huh?" "I told you when I left the cavern." What's going on? Muffet doesn't remember anything I'm talking about. But I was here not that long ago. Mettaton EX is gone on tour, Burgerpants thought I was dead, and now Muffet isn't remembering me? What is happening? I throw a stick to Cupcake which he catches in his mouth. Well, what do I do now? I grab a cinnamon bunny and chuck it at Cupcake. He devours it and gives a happy roar. "All right, I'm going to head back the way I came." " **Okay, good luck, child. Farewell."**


	36. The Book of Human Traits

Chapter 35: The Book of Human Traits

I proceed down the path until I reach Hotland. I wipe my brow. It's really hot but that's to be expected. I head towards the large building. The sign reads LAB. Here we are again. I take a deep breath and walk inside. I walk into the hallway. It's pitch black. "Hello? Alphys?" The lights come on and Alphys rushes out. "Hello? Oh, it's you, what brings you here child?" "I need to talk to you." "What do you need?" "Do you remember the book you showed me earlier? "Huh? What book child?" "The Book on the SOUL traits." "Oh, that book. I do have it." "Just give me a second." She closes the doors and leaves me in the hallway. She doesn't remember either! What's going on? It's as if all their memories have been wiped. 30 minutes pass and Alphys comes out with an old looking, dusty, large book. She places it on the table and dust fills the air. I cough and sputter while Alpha cleans the book. Once the dust is clean, she opens the book. Despite its old appearance, it's intact and the writing is legible. "This was written by Asgore's royal scientist who came before me, Dr. Gaster." "You already told me that." "Huh? I did? When did I do that?" I sigh. "Never mind." She flips through several more pages and then stops. "Here it is." "Every known Soul and their Traits." "Okay, let's try it." I read the traits again.

Chapter 1: Patience _Children with the Trait of Patience have light blue souls. They have kind hearts but are often quite shy and uncomfortable. They are very patient and they use this to their advantage. This however, has always been considered the weakest power._ Patience. The light blue 's Diana's core trait. The Toy Knife must have belonged to her. Next...

Chapter 2: Integrity _Children with a dark blue soul possess integrity as their core trait. They can sense dishonesty and can detect threats. They are somewhat shy and can be scared easily. They make great allies and are loyal._ The Dark Blue SOUL. The girl who predicted my future. Sally. This is her core trait. The ballet shoes must be hers.

Chapter 3: Bravery _Children with the trait of bravery have orange souls. They are often proud and confident and will fight no matter the odds. This power is second strongest along with perseverance and is a power only superseded by Determination._ The Orange SOUL. William's core trait. The gloves must be his.

Chapter 4: Perseverance _Ahh, Perseverance, the trait of never giving up. Of pushing on no matter what. The blue SOUL. This power is second strongest along with bravery and is only superseded by Determination._ The dark purple SOUL. Sammy's trait. The book must be his. But why a book?

Chapter 5: kindness _Kindness, the green SOUL. One of the weaker traits. These children have hearts of gold and are very friendly. This doesn't necessarily mean they are nice. It's one of the more common traits. This power is the second weakest._ The Green SOUL. Jack's trait. The frying pan must belong to him.

Chapter 6: Justice _Justice, a power with a dual effect. This trait has a yellow SOUL and can be used for good or evil. It's considered a dual trait. Children with this trait are very proud and confident. They are similar to children with the trait of perseverance._ The Yellow SOUL. Clover's trait. The cowboy hat, gun and lasso are all hers.

Chapter 7: Determination _Now, the most powerful trait of all. Determination is both the most powerful but also the most dangerous. Children with this trait have red Souls. They are rare and vary between being kind hearted and brave, cunning and clever, or genocidal and smart. They are granted the power of the RESET's and save points. This allows them to save their progress and to RESET their timeline._ This trait. This is Chara and Frisk's core trait. But I'm something else. There must be more to the story. What am I? None of these are my core trait.

"Alphys, there must be more to the story." "What's on the other pages after the note?" "The pages are blank, child." "They can't be." I flip the other pages and sure enough they are all blank. "I don't understand." "This can't be it." "This can't be." Alphys turns and walks away. "I'm sorry, child." She leaves me sitting in the room, staring at the book. I examine the book further and suddenly I notice, something, a folded page. Huh? I pull on the fold in the page. The book begins to change and all the hidden writing is revealed. "Woah."

Chapter 1: _The Hidden Human Trait Trust Nearly as rare as Determination, children of Trust are extremely powerful and their power is equivalent to Determination. Their SOULs are purple and They possess the same powers and advantages as the children of determination. The power is similar to justice in which it can be used for both malevolent or benevolent intent. No such child has yet been discovered._ Sally mentioned something about that. She said I could not achieve my happy ending until the child of Trust descended to this world. What did she mean? This says that no such child has been discovered. Hmm. What could it mean?


	37. Glitched SOULS and Anti Traits

Chapter 36: Glitched SOULS and Anti Traits

I flip to the next page. The heading catches my eye. The Glitched SOULS and their Traits. Wait a minute. I flip back to the note Gaster wrote about me. It reads

"Michael, my greatest creation. I created Michael for one purpose, to prevent harmony between humans and monsters. However something went wrong. I tried to create him using power from the Core. Unfortunately the Core nearly exploded and I was lost to this world forever. He is a being of great power. I called him "A culmination." The most powerful Glitched Soul. His power was given limitation so he wouldn't destroy everything. He was granted all of the traits of the normal human children and all the traits of his kind. One of these powers included shapeshift. It's unfortunate, I never really got to meet him I wonder what happened to him."

The note says that I'm a glitched SOUL. It also says that I possess the traits of the normal humans and of my kind. That must mean the glitched SOULS are my kind. But then what traits do they possess? I flip back to the page of the book I was on. What could the traits of the Glitched SOULS be? I turn to the next page. The Traits of the Glitched Souls are called the anti traits. These traits are the counter traits to the normal Human traits. Huh? The counter? Like the opposite? I look at the next page. Fear, Wrath, Deception, Revenge, Doubt, Despair, Impatience.

Chapter 1: Fear

Fear, one of the most powerful Anti Traits. This trait counters the trait of Bravery. The SOUL will be a simple gray color with black tinges on the bottom. These Glitched Souls are extremely powerful and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.

Woah. Fear. That must be why I have the black tinges on my SOUL. That must mean if I were to fall from the light, my Anti Traits would be revealed. What other traits are there?

Chapter 2: wrath

Wrath, the counter trait to Kindness, is usually a dual trait. Glitched SOULS with this trait lack pity and are prideful." The Soul is a darker shade of Green than Kindness." Huh, Wrath. That must have been the emotion that nearly took hold of me when I thought Asgore had killed my sister. What's next?

Chapter 3: Deception

One of my favorite anti traits. Deception is the counter trait to trust. It is one of the few anti traits that can be used for good. It's a dual trait, and this is where the shapeshift power comes from. The soul will be a very dark shade of purple. Deception. Is that another word for treachery? Well if it counters Trust, that must mean it's about betraying ones trust.

Chapter 4: Revenge.

The counter trait to justice, Revenge is the Dark side of justice. These glitched Souls are cruel, vindictive, and vengeful. The soul will be a brown color. Revenge. Frisk. Flowey. He killed her. If it weren't for Sally and the other SOULS, I would've killed him. I wanted to make him pay for making me suffer. That must be the revenge trait.

Chapter 5: Doubt:

the counter trait to integrity, this trait is very useful and is also a dual trait. Useful for breaking alliances, sowing distrust, and creating Doubt and Uncertainty. The SOUL will be a pink color. This trait usually goes hand in hand most effectively with fear although no such glitched Soul exists. Doubt. Uncertainty, Distrust. This is similar to deception. Pink Soul, goes hand in hand with fear. I'll have to remember that.

Chapter 6: Despair

The Dark Red Soul. Determination counters this anti trait. It's a very powerful and rare trait. No glitched Souls of this kind have been created. In fact, I have only created two Glitched SOULS total. The second one is supposed to correct the mistakes of the first one.

Wait a second, let me read that again. The second one is supposed to correct the mistakes of the first one. Does that mean 1. I'm not the only one and 2. I'm the second one? Then who's the first? Also, Despair. That must have been what Flowey was wanting me to feel.

Chapter 7: Impatience

The counter trait to Patience, this is the weakest anti trait. These glitched Souls are often bold, reckless and impatient. They take big risks no matter how inconvenient. The SoUl will be a gray color.

Impatience, recklessness, taking risks, sounds similar to bravery. Well that's all the Anti Traits but there's nothing on my trait. He must have never known about my trait. I think I'll just write a little something. I grab what looks like a small object that Alphys called a pen on the desk.

 _Special Chapter: Hope_

 _Children of Hope are the rarest of all. There are only two in existence and this is the most powerful trait. It counters any anti trait or other human trait. These children are kind, brave, considerate, and have a good heart. This trait was discovered by me, Michael not that long ago. These children possess the powers of determination as well, giving them a special power._ Hmm. That sounds about right. I put down that there are two. Why do I think this? It's about what Asgore said, before he died. When I spared him, he said. " _ **Young one, when I look at you... I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago... You have the same feeling of hope she had in your eyes."**_ The same feeling of hope she had. Chara. That's who Asgore was talking about. That meant Chara wasn't a human either. She was just like me. Well I guess she was right about one thing, we're the same. I close the book and reopen it. The writing is gone. It's hidden and the page is folded again. I walk out of the room and back into the LAB. "I'm going to go, Alphys." "Oh ok, goodbye child." "Bye Alphys." I walk out of the LAB and continue my journey back the way I came.


	38. A Special Task

Chapter 37: A Special Task

I journey through Hotland and back to Waterfall. I think I'll pay a visit to Undyne. Papyrus said her house was nearby. I walk down the path and I see a house. Gee. You know, that kinda makes sense. She's a fish and so her house is in the shape of a fish. I knock on the door. Silence. I try knocking again. No answer. Huh. She must not be home. She is the captain of the Royal Guard. Also, how is she going to take the news? Maybe, I shouldn't tell her. I think I'll keep that information hidden. Well, if Undyne isn't home, then where is she? I walk back down the path away from Undyne's and back through Waterfall. Hmm. What else did I do? Should I go visit the Tems? No, I don't think so. Their music is terrible and the tems to be honest were peculiar. I continue down the path and see the sentry stand. That's where I found Sans sleeping. I continue back down the path. Hey, there's where Undyne tried to kill me for the first time in the tall grass. It's also where I met Monster Kid. Well, it's time to go back to where my journey truly began. Where I began to connect the pieces of my past. Snowdin.

It's cold as I expected but it's so different compared to Waterfall and Hotland. It's been awhile since I was in Snowdin. I walk down the path. I see a house and outside the house I see- "Human! It's great to see you again!" I smile "Hey Papyrus." "Hey Punk! Glad to see you're still in one piece!" "Hello, Undyne." "I came by your house, but you weren't there." "Oh! Sorry about that." "I've been here ever since you know-" "You tried to kill me?" "Uh, right. Yeah, sorry about that." I smile. "All is forgiven, Undyne." "Human! Undyne wanted you to do something for her." "Uh, no really! It's nothing." "Undyne! Don't worry. The human is your friend." "What is it, Undyne?" "See, Undyne? The human wants to help you." "Could you do this small task for me?" "What is it?" "Ah, it's kinda embarrassing." "What do you need me to do?" "Could you uh deliver this for me?" She hands me a small paper object in the shape of an envelope. "What is this?" "It's a letter." "Papyrus!" "Who's it for?" "It's for um. It's for uh." "Undyne! Seriously, the human needs you to tell you who it's for." "Right, sorry, It's for Dr. Alphys." "Dr. Alphys?" "Yeah, whatever you do, don't read it." "It's for her eyes and her eyes only." "Ok, I'll go take care of it." "Thank you human." "Thanks." "No problem, Papyrus, Undyne." I smile. I start walking when Papyrus suddenly calls "Also, let us know if you see my brother." "Wait, Sans is missing?" "We have no idea where he is." "Keep a sharp eye out for him." "I will." I turn around and start heading back to Hotland.

I walk through Snowdin. It's even brighter and livelier than it was before. The tree is brightly lit and the monsters are happily singing. There's a banner on the tree. It reads. Our Hope has been realized. We can finally go home. I wonder if I should tell them that the barrier isn't broken. I think back to what Asgore said. " _ **Human, I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope." "The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war." "I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike… ...and free us from this terrible prison." "Then, I would destroy humanity… And let monsters rule the surface, in peace." "Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again." "Truthfully... I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope"…**_ All Asgore wanted was for the people to have hope. My core trait is HOPE. Since Asgore can no longer give them hope, I guess I'll have to do it.

I leave Snowdin and walk into Waterfall. I no longer feel a sense of dread walking through here. Instead, all I feel is a peaceful calm. Now that Undyne is no longer trying to hunt me down, it's so peaceful here. I continue walking down the eastern path when suddenly I hear something. It sounds like singing. It's coming from the North? I walk up the Northern path which I must not have noticed earlier. The singing gets louder. I continue up the path until I finally see. "The River Person." The River Person stops singing. "Hello, child. I am the river man or am I the river woman? Nobody really knows. Would you like to take a ride on my boat?" "Yes, please." "Where would you like to go?""Hotland, please." "I can take you there." "Hop on." "Thank you," I step onto the boat. "Off to Hotland we go." The boat turns around and we head off to the east.

As we head across the water back towards Hotland, I can't get that beautiful singing out of my head. The River Person might be a woman because their singing voice is beautiful. "Excuse me." "Hmm, what is it child?" "Your singing, it was beautiful." "Oh, don't flatter me, child, I am no singer." "Please, would you sing a song for me?" "A Song? Oh no, I'm no good. I'm just hopeless." "You're wrong." "Huh?" "I said you're wrong." "Your voice is beautiful and you can't lose hope." "You're just being nice." "I'm being honest and truthful." "If you don't want to sing, then I'll give it a try." "You can sing child?" "I'm okay at singing but here goes nothing."

 _ **A Song of Hope**_

When you're feeling down and nothing's going right

Keep your course, don't stray from the light

There's nothing at all to fear

As long as that special feeling is here

A song of hope

A song of life

A song of peace

A song come alive

It doesn't matter who you are or where you've been

Everybody deserves a happy ending

Peace and Love

Happiness and Joy

And in the end, the people are smiling

They were given something special

Something you can't take away.

As long as there is Hope

It keeps all bad things at bay.

A song of Hope

A song of life

A song of freedom

From stress and strife.

Humans and Monsters

Once the best of friends

Had their friendship

Come to an end

But now things have changed

Humans are nice

And I know things will be alright.

I know in this world, I must play my part

A child with hope in his heart

Wanting to make things right

And let monsters and humans reunite

A song of Hope

A song of Sorrow

As we all look forward to a better tomorrow

I now understand what this world needs

A little bit of hope makes everyone happy.

As a young child, with hope in my veins

I won't let you suffer through anymore pain

A song of Hope

A song come to an end

But the feeling of hope

Will always come again.

This is a song of Hope.

I stop singing. "Well, that's a song I came up with on my own." "You came up with that song on your own, child?" "Yeah, I call it the Song of Hope, why?" "It was a wonderful song." "It made me feel happy." "It gave me hope." I smile. "I'm happy to hear that." "I think I'm going to do it." "Do what?" "Sing." "Really?" "Yes, child, I shall."

By the Riverbank

I wake up in the morning

And wonder if things will ever change

Then one day, I picked up a human

I thought, how very strange

What is a human doing down here

Are they lost or hurt

Don't worry, you have nothing to fear

I'll protect you for better or worse

Another day by the Riverbank

As I complete my usual fare

Hello I'm the Riverperson

I travel everywhere

From the Snow of Snowdin,

to the cold of Waterfall

To the fires of Hotland

And the lands beyond the wall.

The Barrier keeps us down here

So I stay and travel around

But I know that our freedom is near.

I think I hear the sounds

Down by the Riverbank

Is where this song began

So it only seems fitting

This is where the song should end.

Down by the Riverbank

The song of the River Person

Next time, come back and pay

A visit to old Gerson

They stop singing. "You have a wonderful voice." "Thank you, child.""You would make such a great singer." "Thank you, child, but for now, I'm content to do what I love. Traveling down the Riverbank." "Alright then." We come to a stop and I realize we're back in Hotland. I step off the boat. "Thank you, River Person." "Your song was beautiful and I hope I'll see you again." "Good luck and be safe." "Thank you." The river person turns his boat around and heads back the way he came.


	39. Delivery Gone Wrong

Chapter 38: Delivery gone Wrong

Well, here I am again. I walk down the path until I reach the diverging paths. I know that East is the right path. But I wonder. Whatever happened to the Royal Guards? I walk down the northern path and they're sitting down by the elevators. As I approach, they just smile. They're not trying to attack me or harm me. " **Hey,dude, like no hard feelings for earlier, right?"** "Don't worry, guys, all is forgiven." " **Dude, I'm so glad you said that." "We've been like chilling here but feeling bad for like trying to kill you and all."** "Really?" They nod. " **But, our captain is like your friend now and she doesn't want us like capturing humans anymore so…"** "So what will you guys do then?" " **We're not really sure yet. If the Barriers broken, I guess we'll go back to the surface."** "Right." " **So where are you off to, child?"** "I'm going to go see Dr. Alphys." " **Good luck, child."** I wave goodbye and head back down the eastern path.

As I head to Alphys LAB, I think about the royal guards. They are actually quite nice once you get to know them. Sure, they tried to kill me and all, but hey they didn't kill me so it's all good. I wipe my brow. Sweaty as always. It's really hot here but I'm starting to get used to it. I reach the lab but notice that the door is locked. Huh? Why could that be? I knock on the door. "Hello, Dr. Alphys?" I hear a crashing noise inside. "Is everything alright?" "Everything's fine, just hold on a second." More crashing noises and what sounds like struggling. "Dr. Alphys?" I knock on the door again. "I'm fine, just a second." Finally, the door opens and Alphys walks out. "Everything alright in there?" "Uh, yeah, everything is fine." "What are you doing back here so soon?" "Oh right." I grab the letter out of my back pocket. I'm delivering this to you. "A Letter to me?" "Who's it from?" She opens the letter. "It says, dear Dr. Alphys, meet me at the garbage dump later tonight, there's something I wanna tell you.

Signed,

It's not signed. However, I think I have a pretty good idea of who wrote it though. I didn't expect this. I'm not presentable like this." "Huh? What are you talking about?" "I need to be more presentable for our date." "Date?" "Hold on a second, did you just say our?" "Well, duh, you couldn't admit you wrote the letter." "Wait, I think you have the wrong-" "I'll be right back." She closes the door. "Idea." This is crazy! I didn't write the letter. I'm not going on a date with Alphys. She was part of the reason my progress was slowed and I didn't save Frisk. I was still a little miffed at her and she's the only one I haven't yet forgiven. The doors open and Alphys walks out in a black dress. "How do I look?" "You look great but I didn't-" "Great, let's go." "Alphys, stop." "What's wrong?" "I didn't write the letter." "You didn't?" "Yeah, whoever did write it is waiting for you." "Re- ReallY?" "Yes, now go to them." "Ok, I'll leave the Lab open for you." "I was going to leave." "Do whatever you want but I'm leaving it open." "Ok, then." "Thank you, child." Alphys walks out the door and heads to waterfall.

I start to follow her but then I stop. Why did she leave the Lab open? Where is Mettaton now? I think Undyne wrote the letter but what if I'm wrong? Also, there was that door Alphys came through that was locked. What's behind that door? I wonder. I walk into the LAB and I see an elevator. Attached to it is a note? I grab the note as the elevator doors open. _Hey. Thanks for your help back there. You guys... Your support means a lot to me. But... As difficult as it is to say this... You guys alone can't magically make my own problems go away. I want to be a better person. I don't want to be afraid anymore. And for that to happen, I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I'm going to start doing that now. I want to be clear. This isn't anyone else's problem but mine. But if you don't ever hear from me again... If you want to know "the truth." Enter the door to the north of this note. You all at least deserve to know what I did._ Huh? What did she do? The elevator doors slam shut. I can't get out. An alarm starts going off and I can feel the elevator rapidly descending. I close my eyes, bracing for the impact.


	40. Alphys Greatest Mistake

Chapter 39: Alphys Greatest Mistake

I open my eyes. I'm alive? I'm alive. The elevator doors open. Huh? Where am I? It looks like a laboratory like the one Alphys has. There's a dusty sign, that reads TRUE LAB. I guess this must be the True Lab. The elevators doors won't close so I'm guessing it's either broken or it malfunctioned. I walk out of the elevator and I see a row of those metal boxes that Alphys showed me earlier. What did she call them? I think computers? That sounds right. Written on the first one is what looks like a journal entry. I wonder what it says. I start reading.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 1:** _This is it... Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL._ Wait did I read that right? Unleash the power of the SOUL? Just what was she trying to do? I read the second entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 2:** _The barrier is locked by SOUL power. Unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters._ The SOULS of Monsters? But Flowey said that it would take the power of thousands of monsters just to equate the power of one human SOUL. I'm not even a human. I didn't know that the Barrier was locked specifically by Soul Power. That must have been a result of the magicians who cast the spell.

How many entries are there? I wonder. 2 so far and I can see at least 10 more. Well, here we go. I read the third entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 3:** _But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power... Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last…_ So you can't extract a SOUL of a living monster because their souls don't persist after death. She was trying to make a Monster's SOUL last. I read the fourth entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 4:** _I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them... I don't think he should._ What tapes? Could they possibly provide some answers? Where are they? I look around but it's foggy and I can't see much. I'll just continue reading the entries then.

I continue down the path until I locate entries 5 and 6. I wonder why she didn't put them all together. It would have saved a lot of time and effort, both on her part and mine. I read the fifth entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 5:** _I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power..._ _"Determination."_ She did it? She extracted Determination from the human SOULS. But that doesn't make any sense. Where did she get a human? I gasp. Chara. Chara's a multitrait. Her traits are Hope and Determination if I'm not wrong. That means… Alphys took her Determination and used it for her experiments. So not only did she slow me down and cause my sister's demise, she also used Chara's SOUL for experiments. If she knew the truth… That would be really bad. I start reading the next entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 6:** _ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought._ Wait a second. She injected Determination into monsters? She tried to give a monster a human trait? She tried to get their SOULS to persist after death. That explains a lot.

I continue down the path. I walk to the left and locate entries 7 and 8. How many more are there? I've gotten through 6 so far. I read the 7th entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 7:** _We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... So then... What about something that's neither human nor monster?"_ I need to process that for a second. Humans can't absorb Human Souls? I wonder if I can? Because she said what about if something is neither human or a monster? Monsters can't absorb monster SOULS either and monster SOULS can't be absorbed by humans because they don't last. But what could she possibly have used? The 8th entry freezes me in my tracks.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 8:** _I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?_ The First Golden Flower? A flower from the outside world? And it appeared just before the queen left. Could it be? Could the flower that Alphys used for her experiment be Flowey? It's possible. Flowey did tell me that when Asriel died, his dust spread across the garden. Soon after that, a golden flower appeared in the garden. Could that have been him? Did Alphys revive Asriel as Flowey using Determination? It sounds crazy enough to be true.

I continue down the path until I reach entries 9 and 10. Well, 10 down, who knows how many to go. I read the 9th entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 9:** _things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so i can't get the SOULs. i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening. what do i do?_ I see. Alphys is very shy and nervous. This explains why. She's not good with failure. This must have been what happened? But things couldn't have gotten worse. Could they? I hesitate to read the tenth entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 10:** _experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go…_ It's odd, sometimes she's terrified, shy and uncomfortable and other times she's bold and confident. So Alphys was trying to experiment with monsters. What ever happened to the experiments? Part of me doesn't want to find out.

I find entries 11 and 12 on the other side of the corridor. The rest of the entries are neatly lined up. That makes things so much easier. The 11th entry is different though. Rather than talking about her experiments, this entry is talking about something else.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 11:** _now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore. ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again. ... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty…_ Alphys and Mettaton must have had a falling out. Mettaton is really popular in the Underground. Alphys on the other hand, not so much. She delayed his body just so Mettaton would still need her. She just wanted a friend. I read the twelfth entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 12:** _nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work._ She must have gotten desperate. She really wanted to suceed. But what happened when she kept injecting Determination? Part of me wants to know. The other part doesn't want to find out.

How many more entries are there. I see two more on the next two computers. I've read 12 so far. Let's keep going.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 13:** _one of the bodies opened its eyes._ Wait, what? One of them opened their eyes? What happened next?

 **ENTRY NUMBER 14:** _Everyone that had fallen down... ... has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...?_ Huh? How is that possible? Did Alphys really pull it off? Did she really succeed? I read entries 15 and 16.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 15:** _Seems like this research was a dead end... But at least we got a happy ending out of it...? I sent the SOULS back to ASGORE, returned the vessel to his garden... And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. : )_ So her research failed but the monsters survived? How does that work? She returned the vessel to the garden. She told the families that everyone was alive and they would be coming home. The Vessel, Flowey, it had to be.

The next two journal entries freeze me in my tracks. I read entry 16.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 16:** _no No NO NO NO NO_ What was she saying no about? What happened? The 17th entry isn't in english, it's in Wingdings? Wait a second, wingdings, that's the language Gaster uses. I can translate it though.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 17:** _monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together…_ The monster's couldn't handle determination. Determination is a human trait. Too much determination, and a monster's body begins to break down, everyone's melted together. Everyone's melted together? What could that mean?

 **ENTRY NUMBER 18:** _the flower's gone._ The flowers gone? Flowey! He must have escaped the garden and went to the Ruins. That's where I met him.

Here we go, the last three entries and then we're done with these. Here we go, 19, 20, and 21. Let's start with 19.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 19:** _the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home. what am i supposed to say? i don't even answer the phone anymore._ Something must have gone wrong terribly wrong, but what? I read the 20th entry.

 **ENTRY NUMBER 20:** _ASGORE left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore_ The monsters must have gotten angry at Alphys. She made promises that she could no longer keep. The question is, what happened to those monsters? Here we go, the last journal entry. I read the final entry

 **ENTRY NUMBER 21:** _i spend all my time at the garbage dump_ _now. it's my element._ So that's what happened to Alphys. Her failed experiments caused her to be hated. Asgore got mad at her but still let her be his royal scientist? She must be really smart and bright. That still doesn't answer my question, though. What happened to the monsters?


	41. For my Best Friend

Chapter 40: For my Best Friend

There aren't any more entries left to read. Dang it! Now I'm left to wonder. I walk down the path until it diverges into two paths, north and south. Hmm. I think I'm going to go north. I head down the northern path and see a strange looking machine. What is this? It says DT Machine. What does DT stand for? Could it stand for Determination? It would make sense. Alphys was injecting Determination into monsters. The question I have right now though is am I wrong? Did Alphys extract Determination from Chara's SOUL? It would make sense. The flower appearing just before the queen left and after Chara and Asriel's death. I look to the left of the DT machine and I see vials full of a red liquid. I recognize it right away, determination. I was right. Alphys must have used Chara and the other SOULS for her experiments. That's why things went wrong. She's not a human either. She's the same as me. Gaster said it himself. _Monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together…"_ So not only 1. Chara wasn't a human. 2. Chara was just like me. And 3. Her determination was dangerous and too powerful. I don't like the look of that machine though. Just what exactly did she do to Chara?

I continue down the northern path until I reach a small room. Inside the room is a device Alphys calls a TV and some tapes. A TV huh? I wonder why it's called that. Never mind, that's not important. I grab the first tape. It says Tape 1. I put the tape into the slot and it goes inside. Nothing happens. What's going on? How do I make this work. I see a glowing yellow button. Maybe I should push that? I click the button, the button stops glowing, flashes for a second and then an image appears. It's static at first but then it's clear. It's really dark though and I can't see much. I can hear voices however. It sounds like- Asgore and Toriel? I listen closer. _Pssst. Gorey, wake up._

 _ **Mmm? What is it, dear? ... er, and why do you have that video camera?**_

 _Shush! I want to get your reaction. Gorey, dearest. What is my favorite vegetable?_

 _ **Hmmm... Carrots, right?**_

 _No no no! My favorite vegetable is... Eda-MOM-e. ... get it?_

 _ **... Go back to bed, dear.**_

 _No no! Not yet! Hee hee hee. Now, If I were a dog, what breed of dog would I be?_

 _ **Hmmm... I don't know, honey. What kind of dog would you be?**_

 _I would be... A MOMERANIAN._

 _ **Hohoho! You sure are excited to have this child. You know, if you keep making jokes like this... One day, you could be... ... a famous MOMedian.**_

 _Well, I am going to bed._

 _ **Hey! Come on Tori! That one was funny!**_

 _Hahaha, I know. I am just teasing you. Goodnight, dear._

 _ **Goodnight, honey.**_

 _Oh dear, perhaps it is too dark in here for the video to come out._

The tape ends. The cassette pops out and I grab the next one. Tape 2. I put the cassette into the machine and the tape starts. This time there's an image. It shows a young goat boy laughing and a familiar girl. I gasp. It's Chara and Asriel.

 _ **Okay, Chara, are you ready? Do your creepy face! AHHHHH! Hee hee hee! Oh! Wait! I had the lens cap on... What!? You're not gonna do it again...? Come on, quit tricking me! Haha!**_ Asriel's voice. It sounds like Flowey's Could I actually be right? Is Flowey Asriel? The tape ends. How many more are there? I look to my left and see 3 more. Well on to the next one then.

 _ **Howdy, Chara! Smile for the camera! Ha, this time I got YOU! I left the cap on... ON PURPOSE! Now you're smiling for noooo reason! Hee hee hee. What? Oh, yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter... But we accidentally put in buttercups instead. Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did... Um, anyway, where are you going with this? Huh? Turn off the camera...? OK.**_ The tape ends. I guess after Chara disappeared, she ended up down here and became best friends with Asriel. They adopted her. She was my best friend first though. Does she remember him? She doesn't seem to remember me. I should maybe ask her, when all of this is over. 2 more tapes. On to tape 4.

 _ **I... I don't like this idea, Chara . Wh.. what? N-no, I'm not... ... big kids don't cry. Yeah, you're right. No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never! Y... yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers.**_ I gasp. This is what she meant. I was right. She sacrificed herself to try and save everyone but Asriel doubted her. He didn't think it was a good idea but he followed Chara's advice. They used Buttercups which made Chara sick so she could sacrifice her SOUL. Then Asriel took her SOUL and went to the surface. Just like the story Flowey told me. It's all making sense now but I'm not entirely certain I'm right. The 5th tape should confirm or reject my assumption.

 _Child... Can you hear me? We want you to wake up…_

 _ **Child! You have to stay determined! You can't give up! You are the future of humans and monsters…**_

 _ **... Psst... Chara... Please... Wake up... I don't like this plan anymore. What about me? And your best friend. Don't you want to see them again? I... I... ... no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six... And we'll do it together, right? Right. I promise to go see them for you. I'll find them and tell them what happened to you. I promise.**_

I gasp. I was right. They really did try to get the six souls from the humans. Asriel promised to go and see me? She must have thought I was dead. Maybe that's why I woke up in a hole. I had it wrong. She didn't disappear, she thought I was dead and so she ran away. Just like what happened with me and Frisk. I need to talk her. She needs to know the truth. Maybe I had met Asriel before. The name did sound familiar. I suddenly hear a noise. I jump and my back slams into a shelf. "Ouch." Something hits me in the head. I look at it. It's another tape. Huh? Where did this come from? It's dusty and I can't see the text on it. I take my shirt and wipe the dust off them. All it says on the tape is _For my Best Friend._ For her best friend Could this possibly be? I grab the tape and place it into the machine. At first there's static and nothing comes up on the screen. Then suddenly I start to hear a voice and an image becomes visible. _It's Mount Ebott._ " _Hello, is somebody there? Please wake up."_ _I recognize that voice. It's Chara. "Uhh, my head hurts."_ " _Oh, thank goodness, you're awake."_ " _Huh? Ahh!" "Who are you?"_ " _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." "My name is Chara."_ " _Chara, huh? My name is Michael."_ " _Michael, that's a nice name."_ " _Wait a second, this is Mount Ebott, right?"_ " _I think that's what it's called."_ " _Am I on the surface?"_ "Well, if that's what you call it, then yes." " _Uhh, how did I get here? Why does my head hurt? He tries to get up._ "Wait, don't move!" _He crumples. "Oww!"_ "Your ankle is broken. You're in no condition to walk." "Come with me. I'll help you up." " _Thanks." "Where are we going?"_ "To Ebott Village, my home. _She points to the east where a small village can be seen. "Is that where you live?"_ " _Yes. Do you have any family Michael?"_ " _No." "I don't recall ever having a family."_ " _That's horrible, don't worry, I'll take care of you."_ " _Thank you, Chara."_ " _You're welcome."_

The tape ends. That confirms it. Chara and I were best friends. We met when I woke up in the Surface realm. I was right. My memories were real. I suddenly gasp. I figured it out. Chara still has her Determination, but she no longer has her other trait. HOPE, her CORE Trait. That's what Alphys extracted from her. The DT machine can extract any trait. Not just determination. If I save Chara, I can restore her HOPE trait.


	42. A Grand Reunion

Chapter 41: A Grand Reunion

I continue down the path and see another elevator behind a door. I walk through the door and it locks shut behind me. A voice comes up from somewhere. " **Congratulations, Michael. You have completed the path of the True Pacifist."** That voice. Was that Flowey? It sounded like him. I walk into the elevator. The doors close. Where to now? Who knows? A few minutes later the doors, open and I'm back in the flashback. Why am I here again? I walk out of the door and I hear a noise behind me. Vines seal the door shut. That could be bad. Well, nowhere to go but forward. I walk back to the judgement hall, with no idea of what's in store... I walk through the Judgement Hall. It's the same as it was before but Sans isn't here. I walk through the hall and into the throne room. It's the same as before. There are now three thrones instead of two. One for the king, one for the queen, and one for the prince. I really am starting to think that Flowey is the reincarnation of Prince Asriel. The tapes. The journal entries. The stories Flowey and Chara told me. It all adds up. I walk through the throne room and back into the Barrier Room. I am shocked to see "Asgore?" What's he doing here? I could have sworn Flowey killed him. He's just standing there. He finally notices I'm there. " _Human... It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."_ He pulls out his trident and I tense. Do I have to spare him again? I'm just about to pull out my dagger when suddenly, a fireball hits Asgore and he staggers. Fireballs? That must mean someone with fire magic. If it wasn't Asgore, who could it have been? A woman walks into the room. A goat woman with clothes on showing the symbol of the Underground. It's "Toriel!"

I run towards Toriel and give her a huge hug. She laughs and smiles. "Toriel, I thought I'd never seen you again. I wanted to keep my promise but then, it's a long story." She scoffs." _What a miserable creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth... Do not be afraid, my child. It is I, TORIEL, your friend and guardian. At first, I thought I would let you make your journey alone... But I could not stop worrying about you. Your adventure must have been so treacherous. ... and ultimately, it would burden you with a horrible choice. To leave this place, you would have to take the life of another person. You would have to defeat ASGORE. However... I realized... I cannot allow that. It is not right to sacrifice someone simply to let someone leave here. Is that not what I have been trying to prevent this whole time? So, for now, let us suspend this battle. As terrible as ASGORE is... He deserves mercy, too."_ "You're right. It's great to see you again." "I'm glad, my child." " _Tori... You came back...!"_ Toriel gives him a cold stare and he flinches. " _Do not "Tori" me, Dreemurr! You pathetic whelp. If you really wanted to free our kind... You could have gone through the barrier after you got ONE SOUL…" ... taken six SOULs from the humans, then come back and freed everyone peacefully. But instead, you made everyone live in despair…" "Because you would rather wait here, meekly hoping another human never comes."_ Asgore staggers and then sighs. " _Tori... You're right... I am a miserable creature... ... but, do you think we can at least be friends again?"_ She sighs and she says "No, Asgore. I can't forgive you for what you did. For all the suffering those children endured." "Does anyone hear that?" I hear something. It sounds like NGAHH! Wait a minute. I'd know that NGAHHing anywhere.

" _Ngahhhhhh! ASGORE! Human! Nobody fight each other! Everyone's gonna make friends, or else I'll...! I'll-"_ It's Undyne. She suddenly stares around, realizing that nobody's fighting. Toriel breaks the silence. " _Hello. I am TORIEL. Are you the human's friend? It is nice to meet you."_ Undyne looks at me then back at Toriel. " _Uh, yeah...? Nice to meet you!" "Hey ASGORE, is that your ex? Jeez. That's rough, buddy."_ Asgore frowns. I actually kinda feel bad for him. " _H-hey! Nobody hurt each other!"_ Huh? Is that Alphys? What is she doing here? " _Oh! Are you another friend? I am TORIEL. Hello!" "_ _Uh, h-h-hi!"_ She walks over to me and whispers " _THERE'S TWO OF THEM?" "_ No." Before I can say anything further, I hear another voice. " _HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE. THEN I'LL BE FORCED TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"_ A tall skeleton runs into the room. "Papyrus?" "What are you doing here?" " _Hello!" "_ _OH! HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY! PSST! HEY, HUMAN DID ASGORE SHAVE? AND CLONE HIMSELF?"_ "No he did not clone himself."

I suddenly hear a familiar voice. " _Hey guys... what's up?"_ I gasp and smile. "Sans!" I run forward and give him a hug. "Hey, take it easy there, kid." Toriel suddenly lights up. " _That voice! Hello. I think we may know each other?"_ I was right. Toriel and Sans have talked and now they're meeting each other for the first time. " _Oh hey. I recognize your voice, too." "_ _I am TORIEL. So nice to meet you." "_ _The name's sans. and, uh, same."_ Toriel suddenly turns to the other skeleton. " _Oh! Wait, then! This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you! Your brother has told me so much about you."_ Papyrus is beaming. " _WOWIE. I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"_ I sigh and smile. " _Hey, Papyrus... What does a skeleton tile his roof with?" "_ _HMMM... SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?" "_ _No, silly! A skeleton tiles his roof with... SHIN-gles!"_ I crack a smile and start laughing while Papyrus groans. " _I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"_ "Oh, come on Papyrus. Lighten up."

Meanwhile, Alphys and Undyne are trying to console Asgore. " _Come on, ASGORE! It's gonna be OK! There are plenty of fish in the sea."_ That's actually kinda ironic since she's a fish. " _Y-yeah, ASGORE! Undyne's totally right about that fish thing! S-sometimes you've just got to, uh. Stop going after furry boss monsters and, uh. J-just get to know a really cute fish?" "It's a metaphor." "_ _Well. I think it's a good analogy."_ I don't think it makes any sense. " _ **OH MY GOD! WILL YOU TWO JUST SMOOCH ALREADY!? THE AUDIENCE IS DYING FOR SOME ROMANTIC ACTION!"**_ A Robot descends to the ground. Mettaton!" " _ **Hello again, darling, thanks for the epic dance battle." "It was so much fun."**_ "You're welcome." " _ **Well, I'm off to continue my tour, farewell."**_ "Bye Mettaton." " _HEY, SHUT UP! Man, the nerve of that guy! Right, Alphys!? Uh, Alphys?_ Alphys' cheeks are flushed. Uh oh. Where is this going? " _No. He's right. LET'S DO IT."_ Wait, what? Are they going to actually- right here right now! I have no idea how old I am but I have the appearance and voice and body of a child. I put my hands over my eyes. _Well? Uh? I guess? If you want to? Then? Don't hold anything back!_

" _W-wait! Not in front of the human!"_ To my relief, Toriel intervenes at the last moment and breaks up the kiss. I open my eyes and sigh. "Thank you Toriel." " _Uhh, right! S-sorry, I got a little carried away there."_ Toriel laughs and smiles. " _Hee hee hee. My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." "But looking at all the great friends you have made... I think... I think you will be happy here."_ "You know what Toriel? I think you're right." Sans, you're the coolest guy I've ever met." "Aww, thanks, kid." "Papyrus, you're a nice guy and you have loads of enthusiasm." "Of course I do. I am the great Papyrus, after all." "Alphys, you're quite smart but you need to stop letting the past control your life." "You're right, child. I must move on." "Undyne, you're an amazing fight partner." "Yeah!" "Asgore, you did terrible things but you did them for a good reason. I believe that you deserve a second chance." "Thank you, child." "Toriel, you are a wonderful person. You're kind, sweet, and you protected me from danger at the beginning of my journey. You saved me from Flowey and helped me learn how to be a true pacifist." "You're so sweet, my child." "I think I'll be happy down here with the rest of you. You're all my friends and there's nothing waiting for me up there anyways. I'm perfectly happy down here." "I have a question though." "What is it, my child?" "How did you all get here?"

" _H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus... YOU called everyone here, right?" "Well, besides, uh, him." "Uh, anyway... If I got here before you... How did you know how to call everybody?"_ "That's actually a good question." "How did you know?" " _LET'S JUST SAY... A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."_ I freeze. My bones turn to dust and I turn to Papyrus. "What did you just say?" " _A tiny... flower?"_ "Yeah, they said they were going to throw the human a going away party." "A going away party?" "They said. "Your time in the Underground has come to an end." "I thought that meant a going away party." "That's why I gathered everyone." I suddenly hear a banging noise. "What was that?" Another banging noise and then finally a large vine sweeps across the path snagging my friends, trapping them in the vines. " _ **Hee, hee, missed me human?" "I tried to warn you." "But you didn't listen."**_ I recognize that voice. Not again. I hear his evil laugh. Flowey's back!


	43. SAVE them All

_**Chapter 43: SAVE them All**_

" _ **Urah ha ha... Behold my TRUE power!"**_ I open my eyes and I immediately, rub them, wondering if I'm just imagining what I think I'm seeing right now. The adult Asriel is gone and now it's a large creature with two black wings. "Who the heck are you?" " _ **I'm the ANGEL OF DEATH."**_ He shoots an array of rock shaped projectiles. I use my shield and dagger to avoid the strikes. " _ **I can feel it. Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you."**_ Here he comes again, with the same attack? Isn't that kinda predictable? Maybe he didn't think I'd expect it? It's easier to dodge and avoid this time. " _ **Still you're hanging on.? That's fine. In a few moments, you'll forget everything, too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life!"**_ The same attack as before. Can he not use any other attacks? This attack is faster but it's the same as before. " _ **Ura ha ha. Still!? Come on. Show me what good your DETERMINATION is now!"**_

I can't give up now. I must save them. I must save them all. I can't lose hope. I can't fight Asriel and if I just keep trying to avoid his attacks, I'll be stuck here fighting him forever. I look down. The ACT button. What's it doing here? I click it. There's one option. It says SAVE. I click it. Asriel disappears and a lost SOUL appears. It's Undyne. She throws her spear at me and I deflect it with my dagger. I clash my dagger against her spear. "Your fighting spirit, it seems so familiar." "Ngahhh! All Humans will die!" Here come more spears, left, right, up , down, down, left, right, up. I lightly tap her with my fist. "Why does that seem so familiar?" "Ngahhh! You're our real enemy!" She leaps forward and I use my dagger to block my spear. "Mercy is for the weak." I run forward and give Undyne a hug. She returns to normal. " _Well, some humans are OK, I guess!_ " "Undyne!" "You're back!" "Thanks, human, now go save the rest of our friends." I nod.

Undyne disappears and Alphys appears. "Alphys, please, I know you're in there." "Please, come back to us." " _You hate me, don't you?"_ Little Mettaton robots come down from above. They shoot little M hearts at me. "I don't hate you, Alphys." Well that's not exactly true. " _I've got to keep lying"_ Let me try something. I go into my phone's contacts. I click on Alphys. The phone starts ringing and Alphys starts sweating. She launches more robots but there are less than before. She's remembering something. "I need your help, Alphys." " _All I do is hurt people"_ "What is your favorite cartoon?" "My favorite cartoon?" "Wait." Alphys returns to normal. " _No, that's not true! My friends like me! And I like you, too!"_ "Alphys, you're back!" "You can do it, human, save our friends!" I nod.

Alphys disappears and is replaced with Papyrus and Sans. " _I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!"_ He chucks bones at me. I leap, duck and dive to avoid them. "Papyrus, how about a puzzle?" " _A puzzle?" "No I must capture you. THEN EVERYONE WILL."_ "Hey Papyrus, you're a really great cook." " _Huh?"_ "How about a skeleton joke?" "A Skeleton joke?" Papyrus returns to normal. " _NO! WAIT! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!"_ "Papyrus, you're back!" "Wowie! Thanks for saving me! You must save my brother Sans. You can do it human!" Papyrus disappears and now there's only Sans. "Sans, come on. I know you're still in there." "Please come back." " _Just give up. I did."_ He shoots bones at me. "Don't forget your friends." " _My friends" "What does it even matter?"_ More bones. "Hey Sans, why couldn't the skeleton go to the prom?" "Why?" "He had no body to go with." "Nah, I'm rootin for you kid." Sans is back to normal. "Sans!" "Good job, kiddo, now save the king and queen." "Right."

Sans and Papyrus disappear and are replaced with Toriel and Asgore. Toriel shoots fireballs at me. "I'm doing this for your own good, child." "I would love some of your butterscotch pie." "My pie..." No." "No children will ever leave again." More fireballs. "Toriel, how about a story?" "I'll tell you all the stories you want if you do what I say." I run forward and give Toriel a hug. She gasps. "My child, it's you." Toriel's back! "Toriel, you're back to normal." "My child, you have done so well but there is still another to save." "Asgore." "Good luck my child." Asgore throws his spear at me. "Asgore, remember your friends." " **Human, I'm sorry it has to end this way."** I dodge another spear. "Remember your family." " **My Family."** "Chara and Asriel, your children. They loved you. They cared about you. Now, make them proud." " **Human." "For the future of humans and monsters, you have to stay determined."** Asgore returns to normal. "Asgore, you're back." " **Stay determined, human."** Asgore disappears and I'm brought back to the Angel of Death. "So you saved your friends, big deal. So you have a kind heart, so what?" "It won't save you." "Besides, why are you even still doing this?" "There's no one left to save." Yes there is. I go to the ACT button. It now says SAVE Someone else. I click it. " _ **Huh? What are you doing...?"**_ "There's still someone left to save." " _ **Wh... what did you do...?"**_ "I made a choice, Asriel. I'm going to SAVE you too." "Every life deserves saving no matter what." "You may have killed my best friend, killed my sister, and tried to kill me but even you deserve a second chance." " _ **What's this feeling...? What's happening to me?"**_ "That feeling is the feeling of compassion. Of feeling wanted, needed. It's the feeling of HOPE." " _ **No! NO! I don't need ANYONE!STOP IT! Get away from me! Do you hear me!? I'll tear you apart!"**_ "I'm not gonna do that, Asriel." I move towards Asriel.

" _ **Chara. Do you know why I'm doing this?"**_ He shoots fireballs but they land nowhere near me. "Why, Asriel? Please tell me." " _ **Why I keep fighting to keep you around?" "I'm doing this. Because you're special, Chara." "You're the only one that understands me. You're the only one who's any fun to play with anymore. No. That's not JUST it. I. I. I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara! I care about you more than anybody else! I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not ready for you to leave. I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again. So, please. STOP doing this. AND JUST LET ME WIN!"**_ A huge beam of light shoots down and my shield blocks it. _**STOP IT! STOP IT NOW! Chara. I'm so alone, Chara. I'm so afraid, Chara. Chara, I... I…"**_ Asriel is silent. "Asriel?" There is a flash of light and I have to once again cover my eyes to avoid being blinded.


	44. Asriel's Confession, The Angel of Hope

Chapter 44: Asriel's Confession and the Angel of HOPE

I open my eyes and I see Asriel back to normal. "Asriel." "I'm so sorry." "Sorry, what for?' "I always was a crybaby, wasn't I, Chara?" "I'm not Chara." "I know. You're not actually Chara, are you?" "Chara's been gone for a long time." "Um... what… What is your name?" I smile. "My name is Michael." " 's...A nice name _."_ Asriel sighs. "Michael, I haven't felt like this for a very long time. As a flower, I was soulless. I lacked the power to love other people. However, with everyone's souls inside me… I not only have my own compassion back… But I can feel every other monster's as well. They all care about each other so much. And, they care about you too Michael." "I wish I could tell you how everyone feels about you. Papyrus. Sans. Undyne. Alphys. Toriel. Monsters are weird. Even though they barely know you… It feels like they all really love you. Haha." Michael, I understand if you can't forgive me. I understand if you hate me. I acted so strange and horrible. I hurt you. I hurt so many people. Friends, family, bystanders… There's no excuse for what I've done."

I freeze. What do I say? He did so many horrible things. He killed my best friend. He murdered my sister. He killed his own father. He tried to kill me. But hearing his story and seeing his flashbacks. The stories from Flowey and Chara. This entire journey. The talks with the SOULS. All the hard work I've done and the sacrifices I made. Every life deserves saving, no matter what. I walk over to Asriel and give him a hug. "I forgive you, Asriel." "Wh...what?" "Michael _,_ come on. You're… You're gonna make me cry again. ... besides, even if you do forgive me… He sighs. "I can't keep these souls inside of me. The least I can do is return them. But first… There's something I have to do. Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts beating as one. They're all burning with the same desire. With everyone's power… With everyone's determination… It's time for monsters… To finally go free." There's a flash of light and an explosion as the room is lit by a bright light. I close my eyes to avoid being blinded yet again.

When I open my eyes, I gasp. "It's gone." "The Barrier." "It's finally gone." I look at Asriel who's sighing. Michael, I have to go now. Without the power of everyone's souls, I can't keep maintaining this form. In a little while… I'll turn back into a flower. I'll stop being "myself." I'll stop being able to feel love again. So. Michael It's best if you just forget about me, OK? Just go be with the people who love you. I walk towards Asriel and give him a hug. "I'll never forget you, Asriel. "You're my friend and I like you no matter what." I hold him close. He starts crying. "Ha. ha. I don't want to let go." After a minute, he lets go.

He's about to walk away when I stop him. "Asriel!" "What is it?" "Do you remember the promise you made to her?" "The promise I made to her?" "To your best friend." "I promised her I would go see her best friend. I would tell them what happened to her. I never got the chance." "Well, now you have your chance." "Michael? You're Chara's best friend?" "She's your best friend too." "I may have known her first, but she was your best friend as well." "Asriel, I know what happened to Chara." "I was a coward. I was weak." "You were not weak. You were compassionate, you were merciful, you saw the good in humans even though they killed you." "I see the good in them too. The humans made my life a living hell but I still see the good in them." "I guess that's what makes me so special." "Wait, but aren't you a human?" I hesitate. Should I tell him? I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't. You know what, no more secrets, he deserves to know the truth. "No, I'm not a human." "Then are you a monster?" "Let me show you." I close my eyes and look deep into my SOUL. "Awaken Child of HOPE, show me your purest form!" There's a flash of light and I'm surrounded in an aura of blue light. "What's happening?" "I have no idea."

When I open my eyes. My eyes are blue, I have white wings and a calm smile on my face. Asriel looks at me in awe. "Michael, is that you?" I smile. "I am Michael, the Angel of HOPE. My CORE trait is HOPE. It's a power far greater than Determination. In the end, HOPE is how I defeated you time and time again. As long as there is HOPE, anything is possible. As long as there is HOPE, Fear cannot win. As long as there's HOPE, this world is worth SAVING." "How is this possible?" "I was created by the mysterious scientist Dr. W.D. Gaster." "Gaster?" "He created me for one purpose and one purpose only." "To prevent harmony between human and monsters." "In fact, our best friend, Chara is just like me." "She's an angel?" "No, she's a multitrait creation. Neither of us are human." "But how is that possible?" "Did you ever notice that she didn't age?" "She always looked the same but I never really took notice." "That's because we're not humans." "If we were humans, we would've aged." "If you were created to prevent harmony between humans and monsters, then why are you doing the opposite?" "I have no love for humans and I worry that reuniting humans and monsters could be a bad thing. But I resolved to change my fate. My CORE Trait, HOPE, allowed me to change my path, to find my best friend, to make friends, and to survive this journey."


	45. Reunited with My Best Friend

Chapter 45: Reunited with my Best Friend

I close my eyes and return back to normal. "Asriel, do you want to see her again?" "Chara? She's dead. It was all my fault." "You're wrong." "What?" "It wasn't your fault." "What if I told you, I could let you see her, one last time before you go back to the way things were?" "If you won't let me save you, the least I can do is this." "After everything I've done, you'd do that for me?" "How is that even possible?" "Just close your eyes and take my hand." I walk towards Asriel and take his hand in mine. He closes his eyes. "Ok, I'm ready." "Alright then." I close my eyes and when I open them again, we're in my SOUL. "Woah, where are we?" "This is the manifestation of my SOUL." "Your SOUL?" "Yeah." We walk down the hallway. "What are these?" He points to the rooms. "Those are flashbacks." "From your past?" "Yeah." We continue down the hallway until I finally see Chara. "Ok, Chara is over there." "Let me go talk to her, and then I'll let you come out and surprise her." "It really is her." "Yes, now, wait here." I walk towards Chara.

This could either go really well or really bad. I walk up to Chara who's busy sitting twiddling with the golden flower I gave her. "Hey Chara." She jumps "How dare you sneak up on me like that?" She swings her knife. "Woah, easy there, Chara, calm down." "What are you doing here?" "I need to tell you something." "You deserve to know the truth." I take a deep breath and sigh. "I'm not a human and neither are you." "What? What are you talking about?" "We're creations of Dr. Gaster." "Gaster?" "No, that's not possible." "I was created to fix your mistakes, but we both changed our fates." "What are you talking about?" "We became best friends, we lived together, we lost each other." "My best friend betrayed me and my other best friend is dead." "I don't want your help." "I don't want your mercy. I don't want to be saved." "Chara, please try to remember." "Remember what?"

This isn't working. She doesn't believe me. Is there anyway I can get her to remember? The locket. It's still around my neck. I take the locket off. I show it to Chara and she gasps. "Where did you get that?" "I found it in New Home. The house you lived in. I also found this." I reach into my pocket and pull out the True Knife. I take it out of the sheath and it shines. "My Knife." "I found it in your bedroom in your house. You lived there with Toriel, Asgore and Asriel. You were a family." "How did you know? "Who are you?" I smile. "I'm your best friend." "Michael, is that really you?' "Just look at the picture in the locket." She looks at the picture in the locket. "It's just Asriel and I." "Look at the other picture." She lifts the other picture. She gasps and looks at me. "It is you."

She runs towards me and gives me a hug. "Michael, I thought you were dead! I didn't know it was really you." "I thought I had lost you forever, Chara." "It's okay, I didn't remember right away either." "We were running and then you fell, and then I fell down the hole and when I woke up, I was alone." "I woke up, and I couldn't remember anything." "You were gone and I met Frisk." "She did the same thing you did." "Cared for me, protected me, made me feel human." "But Frisk is different than you and I." "Frisk _is_ a human." "She just has a lot of Determination." "Right." "But I have Determination too." "So how am I not a human?" "You're a multi trait. "Your SOUL." "Close your eyes again." "I already showed it. It's red." "Chara, do you trust me?" "You're my best friend, of course I do." "Then, please close your eyes for me." Chara closes her eyes and shows me her SOUL. It's different. Half of the soul is red and the other half is blue. "Chara, you really have to see this." She opens her eyes and gasps. "What?" "But how did you know?" "It was something Asgore said." "Asgore?" "He told me that when he looked at me, he was reminded of the child who first came down here long ago." "He said I had the same look of HOPE in my eyes that you had." "Asgore said that?" "Yeah."

There's a moment of silence between us and then Chara breaks the silence. "Then what happened?" "We were created by Dr. Gaster to prevent harmony between humans and monsters." "But that can't be true." "Then why were we trying to do the opposite?" "We changed our fate." "You see, the HOPE trait." "We weren't supposed to gain it. The explosion might have caused it." "The explosion?" "Gaster tried to used power from the CORE to create us but each time he did, the CORE overheated. The first time, he was able to prevent an explosion, the second time, not so much." "What I know is that we both gained the HOPE trait, somehow someway." "I discovered that the HOPE trait gives us the powers of Determination." "But how is that possible?" "I don't know." "It's just what I discovered." "Didn't you ever notice anything?" "I never seemed to look any older or age at all." "Exactly." "If we were humans, we would be really really old." "You're right." "I have no idea how time works down here, so anywhere between a few days to a few centuries of time could have passed." "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever." "It feels the same for me."

"I can't believe, after all this time, we're reunited." "Neither can I. It's so great to see you again and remember who you really are. "You're not Chara Dreemurr, a girl who made a stupid mistake and now wants to make others suffer" "You're Chara Dreemurr, my best friend and a girl who made a noble sacrifice for the greater good." "And you're not Michael, a boy whose SOUL I'm trapped in." "You're Michael, my best friend and I should have been helping you but I didn't know it was you." "It's okay, Chara." "But please, I want you to come with me."

" Come with you? Where?" I lower my voice so Asriel can't hear me. He can't know about the prophecy. "Come with me back to the living world." "The living world? Do you mean the Underground or the Surface?" "It doesn't matter where. I just want to have my best friend back." "But, all the things I did. I don't deserve anything." "I controlled your sister, I drove her to Genocide." "I tried to force my best friend to murder innocent humans." "The humans made our life a living hell. I wouldn't call them innocent." "Listen, we can start over." "A new beginning. Just the two of us, back together." "Whether we go through this whole journey again, or go to the surface. Please, come back with me." "I'm not ready to do that yet. I'll always be here." "I need some time to think about it." "Alright, then there's only one thing left for me to talk to you about. "What might that be?" "Someone else wants to see you." "Someone else?" "Your brother." Asriel walks out and into Chara's view. Chara gasps. "Asriel?" "Uh. Hey Chara." "Long time no see."


End file.
